Tito Forbids Local Governments from Recruiting Contract Workers: Many are Campaign Staff

Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian has stated that local governments must no longer recruit administrative contract workers (tenaga honorer). He noted that such recruitment creates a fiscal burden for local authorities. “They will eventually become a burden. A burden for the regional heads,” he said following a hearing with Commission II of the House of Representatives (DPR) at the DPR/MPR Building on Monday, 8 June 2026.

Tito explained that recruiting contract workers can increase personnel expenditure and may become a burden for subsequent regional leaders. He observed that, historically, many administrative contract workers have been appointed because they served as campaign success teams for regional head candidates. After years of service, these individuals often request to be transitioned into Government Employees with Work Agreements (PPPK). “After that, the regional budget (APBD) becomes heavy,” he added.

While he permits local governments to transition existing contract workers into Civil Servants (PNS) or PPPK, he requested that new recruitment be avoided as much as possible to prevent increasing personnel spending. He explained that the maximum limit for personnel expenditure is set at 30 per cent of the regional budget. Recruiting excessive contract workers risks violating this regulation. “The regional budget should, as much as possible, be used for the interests of the people—for example, building roads, repairing schools, and healthcare,” he said.

The Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform, Rini Widyantini, previously stated that in accordance with Law Number 20 of 2023 concerning State Civil Apparatus (ASN), government officials are prohibited from appointing new contract workers to fill specific positions. “Tracing back to the source, the emergence of non-ASN employees is partly due to the indiscipline of agencies during recruitment,” Rini noted during a working meeting with Commission II of the DPR in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday, 5 May 2025. Currently, the government’s employment system only recognises PNS and PPPK, and the process of transitioning contract workers to ASN status is conducted through strict PPPK selection processes.