They are using the JHT fund to survive while looking for new jobs. If the JHT can only be disbursed at a retirement age, the safety net for terminated workers would no longer existJakarta (ANTARA) - The disbursement of old-age insurance (JHT) is needed by workers who become a victim of work termination especially amid the current pandemic, House of Representatives' (DPR's) Commission IX Member Kurniasih Mufidayati stated.
She made the remarks in response to the issuance of Manpower Ministerial Regulation No. 2 of 2022 on Old-Age Insurance Payment Management and Condition, according to her press statement released on Sunday.
The latest regulation stipulates that 100-percent Old-Age Insurance disbursement can only be done at the retirement age of 56 years. Disbursement of JHT before workers are 56 years old can be done with several conditions.
According to Mufidayati, the Old-Age Insurance fund taken from workers, is, in essence, the workers' right.
If the right to disburse this fund is restricted until they are 56 years old, this regulation will burden the workers who need social security net amid this difficult time, she said.
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According to the data from Workers Social Security Agency (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan), as of August 2021, there had been 1.49 million JHT claim cases dominated by laid-off workers and workers who resigned under the age of 30.
"This means that workers disburse JHT because they need it since they were laid off and resigned from their companies due to the pandemic," she remarked.
"They are using the JHT fund to survive while looking for new jobs. If the JHT can only be disbursed at a retirement age, the safety net for laid-off workers will no longer exist," she continued.
Mufidayati opined this regulation does not align with the people's current condition.
After workers were terminated, this Old-Age Insurance fund is their biggest hope to be able to continue to live and to have business capital.
This is especially important considering that work opportunities increasingly become difficult to find with entrepreneurs preferring to employ workers under a contract.
"It has become a common knowledge that severance pay check from entrepreneurs is very difficult to access and require a long period of time," she highlighted.
"Hence, JHT becomes their biggest hope because it can be disbursed after one month of waiting," she added.
This fund still essentially belongs to workers. Hence, various policies that dictate its utilization should benefit workers as the primary fund owners.
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Translator: M Razi Rahman, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Suharto
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