124 Former NTB Contract Workers Removed from Rp 3.5 Million Assistance Recipients List

The West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) provincial government has removed 124 former contract workers who were initially proposed to receive assistance funds or severance pay due to their contracts not being extended in early 2026. Out of 518 proposed contract workers, only 394 have been confirmed to receive the Rp 3.5 million assistance following the termination of employment in December 2025. Head of the People’s Welfare Bureau (Kesra) at the NTB Regional Secretariat, Amir, stated that they had received validated data for 518 workers dismissed in December 2025. Of those 518 dismissed, only 394 are eligible for the severance or assistance funds of Rp 3.5 million each. “This number is based on the verification results from the NTB Regional Civil Service Agency (BKD). In our data, we received 394 from BKD,” Amir said on Wednesday (13/5/2026). Amir explained that the reduction in recipients from the initial proposal of 518 mass-terminated contract workers resulted from BKD NTB’s verification. The Kesra Bureau NTB, he said, only collects the required documents for disbursing the assistance funds. “Why the number decreased is something BKD can explain; we received the official validated data from BKD. We only disburse the funds,” he revealed. Amir assured that the distribution of assistance to the 394 workers is targeted to be completed this month. The total cost provided to all recipients amounts to Rp 1.37 billion. “The budget per recipient is Rp 3.5 million each. We target distribution to all recipients next week,” he said. Head of BKD NTB, Tri Budip Prayitno, stated that the 124 contract workers removed from the 518 proposed recipients who were mass-terminated were not included in the initial data. Upon investigation, these 124 individuals included some still actively working as employees of Regional Public Service Agencies (BLUD) and others. “So it is not possible for them to receive assistance funds. From our data, around 80 of them are BLUD employees. It is impossible to give it to people who are still working in BLUD, because they are still employed,” he said. Yiyit, as he is known, denied rumours of fictitious names or recipients whose whereabouts are unclear in the data for the 518 former contract workers who were mass-terminated. He assured that all names on the list are real people who were previously recorded as working. “How could there be no such people? In our data, all the people are there,” he said. Yiyit explained that the change in the number of recipients occurred because the initial data of 518 people included several names whose conditions had changed. For example, some had retired or passed away before the part-time PPPK appointment process. “Then there are those who retired before being appointed, so they already fell under retirement. There are also those who died but were included in the 518 data,” he emphasised. Previously, the contracts of 518 contract workers within the NTB provincial government scope were confirmed not to be extended in 2026. The NTB provincial government promised to provide assistance or severance pay to hundreds of contract workers who failed to become Part-time Civil Servants with Work Agreements (PPPK). NTB Governor Lalu Muhamad Iqbal explained that the contract termination for the 518 contract workers was final. According to him, hundreds of these workers were not recorded in the National Civil Service Agency (BKN) database, so they could not be proposed as part-time PPPK. “This regulation has been in effect, and we have tried for nine months to find a solution. If there is even the smallest loophole to save these contract worker friends, we will definitely do it,” Iqbal said on Thursday (18/12/2025).