Severance Pay Is Only 25 Times The Wage In The Job Creation Law, Government: We Are Looking For A Middle Ground

Illustration. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The government through the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery (PC-PEN) is looking for a midpoint regarding the Job Creation Law in responding to the rapid changes that are happening at this time, including one caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Now this is a fast change, we are looking for a midpoint because now everything is difficult, the business world is difficult, workers are also difficult, everything is difficult, so we have to find a middle ground," said Executive Secretary I of the PC-PEN Committee Raden Pardede in quoted from Antara , Tuesday 6 October.

According to him, the midpoint approach taken by the government is an example of the severance pay for workers in the law that was just passed at the DPR RI Plenary Session.

Initially, the severance pay was set at 32 times the wage, then the severance pay was reduced by 25 times the wage.

Related to that, he admitted that workers would suffer losses, even though he said that the amount of severance pay for workers in Indonesia was higher than in other countries.

"Is that (reduction) a loss for workers? Maybe yes, but we are the highest in this severance pay, compared to other countries, therefore we are looking for a middle ground," he said.

The government, he said, also prepares social security such as in the BPJS Health program, BPJS Ketenagakerjaan which he calls a social cushion if he is no longer working or has reduced his benefits.

"In addition, there will be the possibility of insurance whether a portion of the APBN or from BPJS Employment, meaning that there will be a division," he added.

On that occasion, he also said that the Job Creation Law was needed when the economy had recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, not made when the economy had recovered because it would take a long time.

"So, if it is needed later in 2021 or 2022, we hope that the recovery will start to occur, if we make a law there, we are too late. We anticipate it, meaning we provide an umbrella before the rain comes," he said.

The DPR RI passed the Job Creation Bill in the Plenary Session into law, the majority of the factions agreed to become a law, only the PKS and Democratic Party factions disagreed.