Strategi Bertahan Hidup Pekerja Sektor Informal dalam Pemenuhan Kebutuhan Dasar di Masa Pandemi Covid-19 (Studi Kasus Buruh Pengupas Kulit Udang di Kelurahan Tangkahan, Kecamatan Medan Labuhan)

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 cases in all corners of the world has affected all sectors of human life, which has an impact on the economic, educational, social and cultural sectors. However, the biggest influence of the COVID-19 outbreak is the economic sector, due to the restrictions on human movement in order to break the chain of COVID-19, especially the informal sector economy, namely freelance day laborers who work in shrimp skin stripping businesses. Because basically the informal sector is an alternantif sector because there is no inability of the formal sector to absorb the entire workforce, giving rise to the informal sector. Because the informal sector is an alternative economy that is closely related to poverty, coupled with the poor economic conditions due to COVID-19, workers working in this alternative sector must find other alternatives to survive. The purpose of this study is to describe the survival strategies of shrimp skin peeling workers in Tangkahan Village. Data collection was carried out with literature studies, observations, interviews, and documentation. The results of the research and observations on the subject of the study found the fact that: (1) The Covid-19 pandemic caused an impact on workers due to the ban on the export-import of goods from within and outside the country, namely a decrease in income due to the lack of intensity of working hours because the peeled shrimp were sent abroad as export material, while spending remained equally much. (2) Shrimp Skin Peeling Workers use 3 survival strategies during the Covid-19 pandemic, namely: (a) Active strategies, namely by including family members, (b) . The passive strategy is to save and reduce expenses in meeting food and clothing needs by eating potluck such as consuming instant noodles, tofu, tempeh and eggs, not buying new clothes. In addition, it also reduces social activities, (c) Network strategy is to borrow money from toke, family and relatives when in urgent conditions that require money.