The Ministry of Manpower has said it is aiming to finish distributing Wage Subsidy Assistance (BSU) to 1.7 million beneficiaries added under a coverage expansion initiated by the government by the end of 2021.

At a virtual discussion here on Wednesday, ministry official Surya Lukita Warman said that the second stage of BSU and the result of coverage expansion has been distributed to  989,000 workers.

These workers reside outside regions implementing Level 3 and 4 public activity restrictions (PPKM), he informed.

The wage subsidy for 1.7 million people is an expansion of the first stage distribution in 2021 that was completed in September and targeted workers in regions with Level 3 and 4 PPKM, he said.

The government distributed the 2021 BSU to workers earning less than Rp3.5 million in regions implementing Level 3 and 4 PPKM, he informed. The distribution covered 6.7 million people, he added.

However, the government expanded the recipient coverage, as per the issuance of Manpower Minister Regulation No. 21 of 2021 on November 8, 2021, the official said.

Under the expansion, a budget of Rp1.7 trillion is being utilized to provide wage subsidies to 1.7 million workers, he added.

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

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.

“Our expectation is that we will be done by December 20 (2021),” he added.

Earlier, the Minister of Manpower, Ida Fauziyah, had assured that there the distribution of 2021 BSU for workers will be expedited.

Source: Antara News