House endorses social security bill<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives and the government passed on Tuesday
\na bill on social security, paving the way for the country's poor
\nto receive free health services.<\/p>\n
Interim coordinating minister for people's welfare A. Malik
\nFadjar said the government would implement the bill step by step,
\nstarting with providing the country's 40 million poor people with
\nfree health care.<\/p>\n
\"Under the system, the government is obliged to allocate funds
\nto pay insurance premiums for the poor,\" said Malik, adding that
\nthe funds would be taken from the state budget.<\/p>\n
The national social security system (SJSN) will cover life
\ninsurance and workers' welfare, as well as severance payments and
\npensions, as required by the Constitution.<\/p>\n
To identify the poor, the government will use existing data
\nfrom the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).<\/p>\n
\"The law will function as an umbrella for all laws that
\nregulate state-owned social security firms and their existing
\nprograms,\" Malik told the media.<\/p>\n
The House special committee also agreed not to liquidate
\nstate-owned PT Jamsostek, PT Taspen, PT Askes, PT Jasa Raharja
\nand PT Asabri, which provide social security to workers, civil
\nservants, servicemen and public transportation passengers
\nrespectively.<\/p>\n
The bill on SJSN earlier sparked opposition from employers and
\nlabor unions alike as it was deemed to create confusion among
\nemployers and workers, and overlapped with existing laws on
\nsocial security programs for workers, civil servants and
\nservicemen.<\/p>\n
The new scheme will require the government to provide social
\nsecurity for the country's 220 million people, whereas current
\ninsurance schemes only cover 20 percent of the population.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) secretary-general
\nDjimanto said earlier that Apindo would accept the bill so long
\nas it did not overburden employers and workers.<\/p>\n
Under the law, the government is also to issue a regulation
\nthat defines the unemployed, as many people who work fewer than
\n35 hours per week or earn a monthly income below the subsistence
\nlevel -- or disguised unemployment -- are included in the open
\nunemployment category.<\/p>\n
According to the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration's
\ndirector general for labor standards Muzni Tambusai, single
\nunemployed people will be charged a health care premium
\nequivalent to 3 percent of the regional minimum wage, while
\nmarried unemployed people will be charged 6 percent.<\/p>\n
The bill will automatically become law one month after its
\npassage, with or without the president's endorsement.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/house-endorses-social-security-bill-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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