A continued recovery in the economic condition of workers after the COVID-19 pandemic would likely eliminate the need for wage subsidy assistance this year, Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah has said.

“We hope nothing will happen this year that requires the government to disburse (wage) subsidy as now, the workers’ income is not decreasing,” she expounded after attending her son’s graduation ceremony at Gadjah Mada University here on Wednesday.

The wage subsidy provided to eligible workers in 2020 and 2021 was sourced from the budget for the National Economic Recovery (PEN) Program and sought to alleviate the pandemic’s impact on the economic condition of workers, she said.

The government decided to continue the wage subsidy in 2022 as a remedy for workers affected by adjustments to the subsidized fuel price, which was perceived by some as burdensome.

She said that if the workers’ economic condition continues to improve this year, she is optimistic that the wage subsidy will no longer be needed.

However, the minister was reluctant to divulge whether the government intends to remove the wage subsidy this year or not.

“We hope that the conditions will return to normal and residents can again receive the income sufficient to fulfill their family’s needs. If that is the case, the subsidy will no longer be needed,” Fauziyah said.

Despite the current global economic conditions, Fauziyah expressed optimism that Indonesia’s economy will remain stable and inflation under control.

Positive projections made by major economic organizations, including the World Bank, on Indonesia’s economic growth have also bolstered confidence in the national economy, she added.

“Despite Indonesia’s economic growth projected to shrink, our performance remains better than other countries. The earlier projection of 5.3 percent growth had been corrected to be lower than that, but it remains on the positive value, and our inflation is also under control,” Fauziyah said.

Source: Antara News