DKI Jakarta Contract Workers Complain of Rp 1.2 Million Holiday Allowance Deduction Whilst Civil Servants Exempt

JAKARTA — Contract workers employed by the Jakarta Provincial Government have lodged complaints over substantial deductions applied to their Tunjangan Hari Raya (THR, holiday allowance) received this year.

Liman (32), a pseudonym, one of the contract workers in Jakarta, stated that the THR deduction he received reached nearly Rp 1.2 million.

“I’m complaining about the THR deduction, which is quite large—nearly Rp 1.2 million,” said Liman when contacted by Kompas.com on Wednesday (11 March 2026).

Liman also drew comparison with the situation of state civil servants (ASN), who face no tax deductions on their THR.

“This is rather painful. Contract workers face large deductions, but civil servants don’t incur tax deductions,” said Liman.

He believes the deduction is actually quite significant for his household needs during the religious holiday period.

“The deduction is substantial—it could have covered Lebaran expenses. Usually THR is the sole hope to celebrate Lebaran properly, not to squander money, but at least to be able to make some purchases,” said Liman.

With such deductions in place, he acknowledged he would likely need to economise more whilst preparing for the religious holiday this year.

Similar complaints were also raised by Rudy, a pseudonym, a fellow contract worker in Jakarta.

He lamented the lack of prior communication regarding the new THR tax deductions, which only became known shortly before disbursement.

“We’re complaining that there was no prior socialisation. Only as the THR disbursement date approached was information conveyed via chat, with no direct explanation,” said Rudy.

According to him, information conveyed only through text messages meant that workers did not receive clear explanations regarding the deduction calculation system.

“So we didn’t receive clear information on how the system works or how the calculations are made,” he said.