JHT Is The Last Line Of Defense For Workers, If You Can't Take It, What Do You Want To Eat?

Illustration (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The President of the Labor Party, Said Iqbal, supports trade unions to reject Ministerial Regulation No. 2 of 2022 concerning Procedures and Requirements for Payment of Old Age Security Benefits (JHT). Where in this new provision it is regulated that JHT can only be disbursed after the worker is 56 years old.

As is known, Permenaker Number 2 of 2022 replaces Permenaker Number 19 of 2015 which allows participants to disburse JHT funds when exposed to termination of employment (PHK). Said questioned the urgency of the Minister of Manpower (Menaker) Ida Fauziah to change the regulation. The reason is, at this time the national economy is still crawling up from the wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"What is the urgency of the policy revision? The Labor Party sees that there is no urgency whatsoever regarding the issuance of the Minister of Manpower Regulation Number 2 of 2022," Said said in his statement to reporters, Sunday, February 13. "Layoffs are still high, the business world has not risen, even one of the top WHO officials predicts officially that the next wave of COVID-19 is far more dangerous than the Omicron variant. It is even predicted to be much more dangerous than the Delta variant. This will hit the economy again," he continued.

If in the future there will be a large number of layoffs, Said continued, one of the workers' support is JHT. However, due to this new Permenaker, JHT workers can only be taken at the age of 56 years. "Even though JHT is one of the important 'handles' when workers experience termination of employment (PHK). So when there are regulations that make JHT only disbursed at the age of 56 years, workers who are laid off will suffer even more," said the KSPI president. Said regretted if the government in this regulation 'holds' the money of workers who want to be claimed until they wait for retirement.

"JHT is the last line of defense for workers or workers who have been laid off due to the pandemic. If you can't take it because you have to wait for retirement age, then what should workers eat?" Said Iqbal.

With the new rules, according to Said Iqbal, workers will be disadvantaged. For example, he said, when a worker was laid off or stopped working at the age of 30, he had to wait 26 years to get his JHT money. oppressing' and acting heartlessly. In fact, workers have just been hit by PP 36/2021 regarding wages which has prevented some regions from increasing their wages. "Even if it goes up, the amount of increase per day is still smaller than the cost of going to a public toilet. The increase per day is around Rp. 1,200. While going to the toilet alone is Rp. 2000," said Said Iqbal. Therefore, Said asked the president to dismissed Ida Fauziah as minister of manpower. Because his policies are always controversial like businessmen doing business with the people.

"Actually, this is the minister of business or the minister of manpower? President Joko Widodo should fire the Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah. I note that the current Minister of Manpower often attaches importance to the group of entrepreneurs. Not workers or workers. It is evident from the various policies he has issued, "said Said Iqbal again.

Said Iqbal also emphasized that in the near future the Labor Party will participate in a demonstration at the Ministry of Manpower office together with thousands of other workers to urge that the Minister of Manpower Regulation No. 2 of 2022 be revised immediately.