Klaten's 'Red and White' Cooperative Pays Staff from Operational Revenue

The Merah Putih Village Cooperative (KDMP) in Bentangan, Wonosari Sub-district, Klaten Regency, Central Java, is paying each of its two employees Rp1.5 million per month from the cooperative’s operational income.

Chairman of KDMP Bentangan, Bambang Gunarsa, said the two employees are cooperative members whose duties include assisting business operations, such as managing the staple food shop, fertiliser sales, and LPG.

“Thank God, KDMP has been able to pay salaries for these 12 months,” Bambang said when contacted by ANTARA from Jakarta on Saturday.

He said each employee receives a salary of Rp1.5 million per month. According to him, the amount was set based on the cooperative’s financial capacity.

“In accordance with our capability, KDMP. To pay according to the district minimum wage (UMK), KDMP is not yet able to,” he said.

KDMP Bentangan, which was inaugurated in July 2025, now records an average turnover of around Rp40 million per month with a profit of around Rp7 million per month.

Although it is now able to pay employees, Bambang said all cooperative board members currently receive no honorarium and still work on a gotong royong (mutual assistance) basis, while business profits are prioritised for increasing the cooperative’s capital.

However, all current stock has now been purchased using the cooperative’s own capital.

ANTARA has sought an explanation from Deputy Minister of Cooperatives Farida Farichah regarding the remuneration provisions for Merah Putih Cooperative employees, including whether guidelines have been set by the government. However, as of the publication of this report, there has been no response.

The government continues to accelerate the establishment of KDMPs across various regions of Indonesia, targeting as many as 40,000 Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperatives in operation by the end of 2026. Currently, 1,061 KDMP outlets are operating in Central Java and East Java.

In addition to completing physical construction, the government is also prioritising human resource preparation through managerial training so that cooperative managers have the capacity to develop and manage businesses professionally from the moment operations begin.

Based on data from the Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperative Information System (Simkopdes) as of 9 July 2026, 35,870 cooperative construction sites have been verified.

Of that number, around 20,000 units are still under construction, while around 15,500 units have been 100 per cent completed.