Government targets 1.4 million social aid recipients to work in village cooperatives

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government targets the Village/Urban Village Cooperative (Kopdes) Merah Putih programme to absorb up to 1.4 million workers from poor citizens who are recipients of social assistance or the Family Hope Programme (PKH). “With an average of 15-18 workers in each cooperative, assuming there will be 80,000 Kopdes Merah Putih, we can absorb nearly 1.4 million PKH beneficiaries,” said Minister of Cooperatives Ferry Juliantono during a press conference with the Minister of Social Affairs at the Ministry of Cooperatives office in Jakarta on Monday. According to him, this programme not only encourages PKH recipients to become cooperative members but also provides them with opportunities to work in managing cooperative operations at the village level. He hopes that additional income from residual business results (SHU) or jobs in the cooperative can help social aid recipient families exit the poor category, particularly in Decile 1 and Decile 2 groups. “If necessary, there will be a ministerial regulation on cooperatives regulating the lightest financing for PKH recipients who become members or workers in village cooperatives,” he said. Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Cooperatives Farida Farichah explained that the workforce recruitment scheme for the operationalisation of Kopdes Merah Putih is still in the maturation stage. According to her, once that process is complete, the recruitment mechanism will be integrated with beneficiary data from the Ministry of Social Affairs, particularly families in Decile 1 to Decile 4 categories.