Jakarta. The Manpower Ministry has acknowledged the protests from workers and employers against the mandatory Housing Savings Program (Tapera).

Indah Anggoro Putri, Director General of Industrial Relations and Social Security Development at the Ministry of Manpower, explained that the resistance is due to insufficient government dissemination regarding the program.

"The protests stem from a lack of familiarity. We, the government, have not yet introduced the policy effectively. So, it is understandable that workers and employers are unfamiliar and therefore resistant," Indah stated on Sunday.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo recently signed Government Regulation (PP) Number 21 of 2024 concerning the national housing scheme. This regulation mandates a 3 percent salary deduction from state and private employees and freelancers, with employers bearing 0.5 percent and employees bearing 2.5 percent.

Participants of Tapera can benefit from long-term housing loans, including mortgage loans (KPR), house construction loans (KBR), and house renovation loans (KRR) with terms up to 30 years and fixed interest rates below market rates.

"We will soon conduct extensive public hearings. We are also open to receiving input from our labor stakeholders," Indah said.

Indah reassured workers and employers that they should not worry. She explained that the program will not immediately result in salary or wage deductions for private or state employees.

"The mechanism will be regulated by a ministerial regulation from the Manpower Ministry. The deduction mechanism will be detailed in this ministerial regulation," she clarified.

Indah added that the policy is still under intensive review until 2027 and emphasized that it will not affect workers earning below the minimum wage.