Airlangga Hartarto: Salary Subsidy Assistance Will Be Continued In The First Quarter Of 2021

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto confirmed that salary subsidies for workers of Rp 600 thousand per month will be continued in the first quarter of 2021 to increase people's purchasing power.

"Assistance for salary subsidies will continue in the first quarter of next year," Airlangga said in a press conference after the Plenary Cabinet Session on Health Management and Economic Recovery for Strengthening Reforms in 2021 at the State Palace, quoted from Antara, Monday, September 7.

Salary subsidy assistance, said the Chairman of the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery, will be one of the priority or superior programs in the National Economic Recovery (PEN) strategy next year. The government is considering continuing this direct cash assistance, so that it can accelerate economic recovery, especially for public consumption amidst the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, a salary subsidy of Rp. 600 thousand per month is provided for four months, with a target recipient of 15.7 million workers.

Requirements for workers who are entitled to subsidized salaries are that the worker receives a salary below Rp. 5 million per month, and is registered as an active participant in BPJS Ketenagakerjaan. The worker is an Indonesian Citizen (WNI) as evidenced by a National Identity Number (NIK), is an active participant in the employment social security program, and has an active bank account.

The complete requirements are regulated in the Minister of Manpower Regulation (Permenaker) Number 14 of 2020 concerning Guidelines for Providing Government Assistance in the Form of Salary / Wage Subsidies for Workers / Laborers in Handling the Impact of COVID-19.

The stages of subsidized salaries that are distributed are every two months so that the disbursement at each term is IDR 1.2 million which is channeled directly to the recipient's bank account.

Salary subsidy assistance in the first phase on August 27 2020 was then distributed through four state bank association banks (Himbara) to the beneficiary's account.

This salary subsidy assistance is aimed at driving public consumption that meets 57 percent of Indonesia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the second quarter of 2020, household consumption contracted by minus 5.51 percent, which also caused the domestic economy to fall to a level of minus 5.37 percent.