The government is studying the possibility of establishing what it calls a “workers fund” as a temporary financial cushion for people losing their jobs and to fund training courses to equip them with new skills.

Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri said the fund would prioritize dismissed employees and those who were working but yet could not make ends meet for their families.

People who lose their jobs would receive training for additional skills, and members of their families would also get unemployment benefits, the minister said on Thursday.

"With the fund, we will retrain the dismissed employees and the working poor, so they can find a job again," he said at the Bogor Palace in West Java.

He added that, sometimes, training could take a long time, which is why their family members needed financial support.

The program was expected to cover the unemployed people and their families for up to one year -- six months to support their families while they are in training and another six months while they are in the process of finding a new job, the minister said.

A final decision on the “workers fund” was expected by the end of this year, he said, adding that he would talk to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati about whether to fund the measure through the state budget or through the social insurance scheme. (bbn)

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