President Joko Widodo is truly committed to providing social security to workers and laborers, deputy II of the chief of the Presidential Staff Office, Abetnego Tarigan, affirmed on Thursday.
Tarigan delivered the statement at Bina Graha Building here during the visit of National Workers’ Union (SPN) representatives.
He said that the commitment is evident from the issuance of Presidential Instruction Number 2 of 2021 on the Optimization of the Employment Social Security Program and Presidential Instruction Number 1 of 2022 on the Optimization of the National Health Insurance Program.
“These two Presidential Instructions prove that Mr. President cares about workers’ social security,” he added in a press statement received here on Thursday.
The government has extensively pursued people’s involvement or membership in the social security program so that workers, laborers, and their families can benefit from it.
“Currently, the government is focused on increasing the number of participants, especially of vulnerable workers and non-state civil workers,” he said.
The program aims to prevent workers’ families from getting trapped in poverty, he added.
However, he acknowledged that the implementation of Presidential Instruction Number 2 of 2021, especially in terms of expediting information regarding the registration mechanism and benefits, is still posing some challenges.
However, he assured that the Presidential Staff Office, along with the relevant ministries and institutions, will continue to do President Widodo’s bidding.
Meanwhile, general chairperson of the central executive board of the National Workers’ Union, Djoko Heriyono, called for a serious and practical implementation of the provisions regarding social security for employment and national health insurance, given that less than 50 percent of workers have been covered by social security so far.
“As of September 2021, the number of formal workers covered by Social Security (BPJS) is still 27 million; however, the total number of formal workers is around 70 million. We ask the Presidential Staff Office to (give attention) to this (issue),” Heriyono said.
The National Workers’ Union representatives visited the Presidential Staff Office as part of a series of activities held to commemorate International Labor Day (May Day).
Source: Antara News