Indonesian government officially extended the emergency restrictions (PPKM Darurat) until July 25 and will reopen gradually on July 26. The decision was made based on the unconducive situation because of the spike in Covid-19 infection. Many business sectors are affected by the restriction extension, especially the industry as one of the national economy drivers. The government’s policy to overcome the impact is by providing funds for the workers.

In a virtual press conference on Wednesday (21/7), after discussing the latest situation with Minister of Manpower -Ida Fauziyah, Minister of  Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati will increase the fund up to Rp10 trillion for social security of 8.8 million workers affected by the emergency restrictions. The Rp10 trillion will be allocated for wage subsidy (BSU) up to Rp8.8 trillion and additional funds for Pre-Employment Cards up to Rp1.2 trillion.

The wage subsidy for the workers targets the laid-off workers or those whose working hours are cut. Meanwhile, the pre-employment card is for terminated workers. So with the fund, the government hopes that the employers will not need to fire their workers.

Essentially, many saw the restrictions extension as dilemmatic. On one hand, the economy must keep moving. On the other hand, Covid-19 and its Delta variant still haunt the people. Still, this difficult decision must be made. Wishfully, the fund for the workers can sustain the economy.