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COVID-19: Govt mulls over plan to help migrant workers who lost their jobs in big cities

The plan includes the possibility of facilitating their return to their hometowns.

News Desk (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, April 3, 2020

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COVID-19: Govt mulls over plan to help migrant workers who lost their jobs in big cities A resident wearing a mask passes in front of Tanah Abang Market in Jakarta on April 1, 2020. Southeast Asia's largest textile market is closed until April 5 over concerns of coroanvirus spread. (JP/ Dhoni Setiawan)

T

he government is currently mulling over a plan to help migrant workers working in big cities across Indonesia who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic, including the possibility of facilitating their return to their hometowns.

Indonesia's COVID-19 rapid response task force chief Doni Monardo acknowledged that those workers would face difficulties if they stayed in the country during the health crisis, as they could barely make ends meet with no income.

"We're now reviewing options to help them, as many of them have lost their jobs and they have low purchasing power," Doni said in a video-conference meeting with House of Representatives Commission IX overseeing health care and manpower on Thursday.

"This would be a problem in the future, so we're considering whether or not we will help them return to their hometowns."

Read also: Indonesia’s COVID-19 stimulus playbook explained

He said the government had also tried to come up with a plan to give the affected workers opportunities to engage in new activities once they returned to their hometowns, including farming and fishing, which would contribute to help securing nationwide food supplies.

"When the big cities lack food supplies, villages will therefore have a surplus. If the [migrant] workers return to their villages and switch jobs to become farmers and cattlemen, for instance, they can help us prepare to overcome a food crisis, which the WHO has previously warned about," he said.

Although it was still unclear when the plan would be finalized, Doni asserted that migrant workers returning to their hometowns should practice a 14-day self-quarantine upon their arrival so as to reduce the risk of further COVID-19 transmission.

Indonesia has launched social safety net programs aimed at helping low-income families and informal workers who depend on their daily income to make ends meet, as the coronavirus has taken its toll on their jobs.

Read also: Explainer: BI to throw lifeline to Indonesia’s economy to fight COVID-19

The government has allocated Rp 110 trillion (US$6.6 billion) as a safety net budget for people hardest-hit by the pandemic. The amount will be disbursed to around 10 million families in the family hope program as well as the 15.2 million families in the staple food program.

The budget for the pre-employment card program will be raised to Rp 20 trillion from the initial Rp 10 trillion, which the government expected would be sufficient to cover 5.6 million laid-off workers, informal workers as well as micro and small business owners.

Social protection funds will also include free electricity for 24 million customers using 450 KVa and 7 million customers using 900 KVa.

As of Thursday, there were 1,790 confirmed COVID-19 cases across the nation, with 170 deaths and 112 recovered cases, according to the official count of the government. 

Jakarta, the national epicenter of the outbreak, recorded 897 confirmed cases, more than half of the national figure. (nal)

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