TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Jokowi delays launch of unemployment benefit program
The President was scheduled to ceremonially launch the program on Tuesday because of the day's numeric date: 22.02.2022.
Change Size
All about the money: Dozens of workers rally outside the Manpower Ministry on Jl. Gatot Subroto, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday to demand the cancellation of a ministerial regulation that requires workers to wait until they reach 56 years of age before they can withdraw their pension funds. (Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has postponed the ceremonial launch of the unemployment benefits program (JKP) after labor unions protested the scheme's complicated terms and conditions.
The Manpower Ministry said that Jokowi was scheduled to launch the JKP on Tuesday because of the day's numeric date, 22.02 2022, which is considered a nomor cantik (beautiful number).
Manpower Ministry secretary-general Anwar Sanusi said on Tuesday that the government had postponed the launch as a result of "technical difficulties" that would soon be solved.
“Let's just wait. We have to adjust accordingly to the President’s schedule,” Anwar told The Jakarta Post.
The Workers Social Security Agency (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan), also on Tuesday, confirmed the postponement but assured that the JKP program was still up and running.
“It is true the launch was rescheduled, but this will not hinder workers from accessing its benefits,” Kunto Wibowo, deputy director of program and operations at BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, told the Post.
Reiterating Kunto's response, BPJS Ketenagakerjaan spokesperson Dian Agung Senoaji said the agency continued paying JKP benefits to eligible workers.
