Writers: Victoria Fanggidae and Eka Afrina
The Indonesian media and the public, especially workers, have been thrown into a national polemic regarding the pension fund (JHT), one of the social security schemes for workers administered by state insurers.
The polemic began after the release of Manpower Ministerial Regulation No. 2/2022 about the disbursement mechanism of JHT benefits on Feb. 4. Nearly 400,000 people have signed an online petition to urge the government to withdraw the decree, which stipulates that the JHT can only be withdrawn when workers reach 56 years of age.
Nonetheless, this is not a new dispute. In 2015, the government issued a similar regulation, and it was soon followed by waves of labor demonstrations nationwide, which prompted the government to withdraw the regulation.
