PPKM Practices for Society and Compliance and Impact on the Economy in the Surabaya City - Indonesia

PPKM is stands for implementation of restrictions on community activities. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, both during PSBB or PPKM, people can not stop their activities outside their homes. Research data shows that Surabaya City residents spend the most time outside the house for 7-9 hours / day which reaches 33.11%. According to Research and Development (R&D) data from CSWS FISIP UNAIR 33.11% of Surabaya City residents spend 7-9 hours/day during the Covid-19 pandemic entirely for work purposes. 28% of them use the time for family visits/needs. Other activities include being outside the home for medical treatment and college needs.

Courtesy of Freepick.com 

Judging from the knowledge of risk factors, and from being outside the house during the pandemic, there were 33.11% of Surabaya City residents who stated that they knew the risks. In terms of employment, residents of Surabaya City who are included in this 33.11% group include working in State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), the private sector such as mall security guards, entrepreneurs (coffee shops, food stalls, motorcycle repair shops, etc.), freelancers / odd. Even though they work long hours in a day, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the income of some Surabaya residents is still relatively mediocre. Such as the income of freelancers and motorcycle repair workers, which each month ranges from Rp. 1,000,000 – 2,500,000.

The enactment of PSBB and PPKM has had a major impact on the economic conditions of freelancers and lower-middle-class entrepreneurs. This matter became one of the reasons why the Surabaya City residents who work in the informal sector do not agree if PPKM continues to be implemented. This is confirmed by the statement of one of the food vendors in Karang Menjangan Market. A female informant as a resident of Surabaya City who has been selling pecel rice for a dozen years has received the impact of the implementation of PSBB and PPKM. The informant admitted that her turnover had decreased drastically since the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, she had two employees who were each paid Rp 1.5 million per month. In addition, the cost of renting a food stall is Rp. 12 million per year. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, after an informant argued that she was no longer hiring her employees due to a drastic decline in business turnover, even the rent for his stall was one year in arrears.

Another informant who works in the informal sector from Bandung Regency, initially selling fried rice, fried noodles, and cap cay in student and employee boarding houses around the Airlangga University campus, has now turned his business into a Cilok Bandung trader. In the past, his small shop business was in great demand by students and office workers; his merchandise was always sold out. The presence of the Covid-19 pandemic has caused the Government to strictly enforce PSBB and PPKM, stop offline teaching and learning activities, and impose WFH for office employees, which is the point of its downfall. Efforts to maintain his depot and even trying to sell online through a number of applications (GrabFood, GoFood) did not result in any goods. Pak Dadang continues to rack his brains to have income continuously during the Covid-19 pandemic to support his wife and children. The business chosen then is selling cilok food which is considered to have a market share that is of interest to all circles. Another case is the culinary business in the form of a food stall for Central Javanese cuisine, and Chinese Food which was started with his wife. Before the pandemic, the food stall operated for up to 12 hours per day, and was open every day including national holidays. The majority of its customers are students and employees. Since the pandemic, its turnover has dropped drastically and PPKM has exacerbated the decline in its turnover. The rules of WFH and WFO for offices and lectures have changed people's lives socially and economically.