Employers call for Jamsostek to enhance services
Employers call for Jamsostek to enhance services
Fadli and Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Batam/Jakarta
Employers have urged state-owned social security firm Jamsostek
to improve its performance as a prerequisite to gain expatriate
participation in its programs, in response to the recent issuance
of Ministerial Decree No. 67/2004 on foreign workers'
participation in social security schemes.
Anas Siregar, director of International Global Indo-Asia,
which runs kindergarten and elementary and junior high schools
for foreign students in Batam, said the educational foundation
had insured its 12 expatriate instructors from the United States,
Canada, India and Thailand through a better health insurance
provider, because Jamsostek's package did not yet meet
international social security standards.
"We have no objections to our teaching staff registering with
Jamsostek, but the state company must improve its services to the
public and provide maximum benefits to participants," he said on
Monday in a seminar on expatriate participation in Jamsostek in
Batam, Riau.
Batam is home to more than 3,200 expatriates, but only 20
percent are registered with Jamsostek.
Separately, Djimanto, secretary-general of the Indonesian
Employers Association, concurred and said the government should
cut taxes and levies on employers amid the difficult business
environment.
"More foreign investors are expected to relocate their
factories to other countries because of the numerous taxes and
levies imposed on them," he said, adding the strong labor
movement, numerous levies and legal uncertainty would negatively
affect the country's investment climate.
Meanwhile, Adjat Daradjat, director of labor inspection at the
Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, also called on Jamsostek
to improve its services for workers -- including foreign workers
-- to enhance the attractiveness of its social security scheme to
workers and employers.
"Jamsostek's service does not yet meet international
standards, and this is why many expatriates have not registered
with its social security scheme. Jamsostek must improve its
services to ensure its products' competitiveness against social
security programs offered by other ASEAN countries," he said at
the seminar.
Workers in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand
enjoy better social security services and benefits than those in
Indonesia, as they, their employers and the foreign governments
contribute higher premiums to the schemes.
For instance, workers and their employers in Singapore are
required to pay 22 percent of their gross monthly salaries in
premiums, while those in Indonesia pay only four percent to the
same scheme.
Jamsostek president Achmad Djunaidi said it was obligatory for
expatriates to register with the firm, because it provided basic
social security for all workers employed in Indonesia.
Referring to Ministerial Decree No. 67/2004, which was issued
in April, Djunaidi said expatriate participation would help
strengthen Jamsostek financially, because most foreign workers
were paid higher wages than locals.
"Their participation would provide a cross subsidy for low-
income workers who contribute less to the insurance programs," he
said.
Djunaidi acknowledged that Jamsostek could not provide maximum
benefits for all members, as only a small percentage of workers
had signed up for its programs, while the government had yet to
disburse its obligatory contribution.
"Many employers have not submitted accurate reports on their
workers' salaries to Jamsostek, or have registered only part of
their workforce with Jamsostek," he said.
He added that the House of Representatives was revising the
1992 Social Security Law to regulate the government's obligatory
contribution to social security.
To date, some 23 million workers and thousands of employers
have paid Rp 28 trillion in social security premiums, the
majority of which Jamsostek has deposited in state-owned banks
and a small portion of which it has invested in the property and
industry sectors.