"Many informal workers do not get their rights as workers. Now, it is time for us to encourage informal workers to move up into formal employment," Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Muhaimin Iskandar said in a talk show here on Monday.
Though Indonesia's economic growth is currently stable at 5 percent, the impact is considered to have not been equally distributed for the welfare of the community, especially for informal workers.
"We must prepare new mobility pathways so that informal workers can enter the formal sector," he remarked.
The minister emphasized the importance of early career planning and education, including the integration of secondary education, financing schemes, and the demands of the job market.
He stated that a paradigm shift in the implementation of policies related to community empowerment can be a strategic way to improve the capacity of informal workers so they have adequate competence, skills, and access needed for formal employment.
Minister Iskandar explained that this paradigm shift has been implemented by the Coordinating Ministry of Community Empowerment by ensuring that the state budget is utilized to increase the capacity of the community to help them become self-reliant.
This includes the provision of productive assistance that provides a bigger long-term impact compared to regular social assistance.
"The challenge we are facing is ensuring that the financing for education, training, and the link-and-match system is truly effective. That is the only way for informal workers to move up into the formal sector," he said.
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Translator: Asep Firmansyah, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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