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THE Indonesian government has apportioned funding of IDR10 trillion as a precautionary measure to address the rising number of workers laid off in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program will be realized through pre-employment cards, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated at a limited meeting with governors via videoconferencing at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.
“(The program pertaining to) pre-employment cards will soon be implemented as a precautionary measure to handle (the rising number of) workers being laid off,” he noted.
Jokowi remarked the program will also target daily workers and micro entrepreneurs, who have lost income over the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The budget amounts to Rp10 trillion. Provinces should support it (the program). They should start collecting data of those who deserve it,” he noted.
The president urged regional administrations to immediately map out and register residents entitled to receive pre-employment cards in their respective regions.
He stated that the government was focusing on three aspects — safety and health; social safety net, and economic impact — to handle the COVID-19 crisis.
“In essence, we want to focus on three aspects. The first thing is safety and health that is the main point, while the second thing is the social safety net in which social assistance must be readied,” he remarked.
President pointed out that the third aspect is that the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic must be calculated properly to ensure food stocks. [antaranews/photo special]
