Indonesia aims to distribute wage subsidies by year end

The government had, on November 8, 2021, budgeted Rp1.7 trillion (US$69,450) to provide wage subsidies to 1.7 million workers as per the issuance of Manpower Minister Regulation No. 21 of 2021, said ministry official Surya Lukita Warman.

Beneficiaries under this scheme are workers who reside outside regions implementing Level 3 and 4 public activity restrictions (PPKM), he said.

The latest tranche of subsidies is an expansion of the distribution that was first completed in September this year and targeted workers in regions with Level 3 and 4 PPKM.

Under the first round of subsidies, the government targeted workers earning less than Rp3.5 million (US$243) in regions implementing Level 3 and 4 PPKM which benefited 6.7 million people, he added.

Warman assured that the ministry, along with other institutions, will continue to work to complete the wage subsidy distribution before the end of the year.

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The institutions include the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan), which is providing data on workers eligible for the wage subsidy, as well as state-owned banks, who are serving as distributors, he said, according to Antara.