Fiscal Mismatch Threatens PPPK Layoffs in Regions
A wave of threats of termination of employment contracts for Government Employees with Work Agreements (PPPK) in the regions is beginning to feel real. Several areas, such as East Nusa Tenggara and West Sulawesi, are reportedly facing serious pressure due to fiscal policies deemed out of sync between the central and regional governments.
IPDN Professor Djohermansyah Djohan views the issue not merely as a technical budget matter, but as the impact of broader policies. He assesses that the limitation on personnel spending to a maximum of 30% of the Regional Budget (APBD), as regulated in central-regional financial rules, loses relevance when not matched with adequate fiscal support.
“This is a promise that has not been kept. The regions have already proceeded with recruitment, but without funding support,” he stated in his comments on Sunday (29/3).
Conceptually, the personnel spending limit aims to provide development space for regions. However, according to Djohermansyah, its implementation clashes with field realities. From 2025 to 2026, transfers to regions are said to experience significant cuts, disrupting planning that had been prepared since the 2022 transition period.
As a result, regions with low fiscal capacity face a dilemma: retaining employees or maintaining budget balance. In this situation, PPPK become the most vulnerable group affected.
In fact, the PPPK scheme was initially designed as a solution to eliminate honorary workers, even accompanied by promises of central funding support. In reality, the salary burden has been shifted to the APBD at a time when regional fiscal capacity is weakening.
The impact of potential layoffs does not stop at increasing unemployment figures. Vital sectors such as education and health are also threatened, given that many PPPK fill strategic positions as teachers, medical personnel, and technical staff.
If reductions occur on a wide scale, the quality of public services risks declining, public access to basic services could be limited, and several regional programmes may halt. In the long term, this condition is feared to widen inter-regional disparities.
Djohermansyah also highlights the direction of state spending policies. He believes the government needs to reorganise priorities amid fiscal pressures, especially by placing employee salaries and public services as primary needs.
“In difficult situations, the state must determine priorities. The main ones are employee salaries and public services. Other programmes can be postponed or scaled down,” he said.
He assesses that several major programmes should be reviewed if they potentially disrupt the state’s basic obligations. Without corrective steps, the risks that arise are not only for the regions but also for overall fiscal stability.
On the other hand, Djohermansyah highlights the irony faced by honorary workers who were recently appointed as PPPK but are now threatened with job loss. Meanwhile, new programmes that open recruitment in a short time continue to run.
“This contradicts the principle of justice. Those who have served for a long time are sidelined,” he said.
As a way out, Djohermansyah encourages a review of regional transfer policies to make them more proportional, especially for areas with low original regional revenue. He also reminds of the importance of stopping a uniform approach in national policies that directly impacts the regions.
According to him, without a change in direction, the impacts that emerge could spread, from increasing PPPK layoffs, declining public services, to increasingly sharp social inequalities.
“If this continues to be enforced, we are actually moving away from the goal of improving public welfare,” he concluded.
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