Jakarta. Deputy Manpower Minister, Immanuel Ebenezer Gerungan said the management of textile company Sri Rejeki Isman (Sritex) must be held responsible for the severance payments and other rights owed to former employees.

This statement was made by Immanuel following the arrest of the former President Director of Sritex (2005–2022), Iwan Setiawan Lukminto, by prosecutors on Wednesday.

Iwan is suspected of being involved in a corruption case related to the disbursement of credit facilities from several state-owned banks to Sritex.

"This responsibility must be directed at the previous management. The manpower minister has also stressed that the company is obligated to pay severance to its workers," said Immanuel, as quoted by Antara.

he added that the government continues to oversee the process of fulfilling labor rights that have not yet been paid by the company.

"We will ensure that the rights of former Sritex workers, including severance, job loss benefits, old-age security, and BPJS Ketenagakerjaan (employment social security), are fulfilled," he asserted.

The government is also monitoring the company’s asset auction process as well as the potential reemployment of former workers. "We will investigate whether these obligations fall under the responsibility of the former management or the court-appointed curator," he added.

According to the Attorney General's Office, 55 witnesses have so far been questioned regarding the alleged corruption in the granting of credit facilities to Sritex. AGO's Director of Corruption Investigation, Abdul Qohar, said investigators have found sufficient evidence to conclude that corruption occurred in the disbursement of loans from several state-owned banks to Sritex, with unpaid debts totaling Rp 692 billion.