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.