Tangerang labor projects to begin

Tangerang labor projects to begin

TANGERANG (JP): Government-run projects in Tangerang are set to begin Monday and are expected to temporarily employ 73,260 blue-collar workers to ease unemployment problems in the city.

Tangerang Mayor H. Djakaria Mahmud said yesterday that the labor-intensive projects, financed by the central government with a budget of Rp 620.8 million (US$87,000), were to be conducted in 79 subdistricts.

Out of the program's total budget, Rp 580 million would be allocated to pay workers, while the remainder would be for the procurement of materials, Djakaria was quoted by Antara as saying.

"Each worker will be paid Rp 7,500 for a five-hour workday," he said.

The projects, which would be conducted until March, would consist of road improvements, dredging ditches, repainting road markers and greening activities, he said.

Djakaria said that the work program would involve the participation of subdistrict heads, who would be in charge of registering workers for the projects.

He expected that the projects would help ease unemployment problems which have become acute as more and more workers were being laid off in the wake of the monetary crisis.

Djakaria also warned subdistrict heads not to take advantage of the implementation of the project for personal gain.

"This project should focus on helping the jobless and those who have just been laid off," he said. (hhr)