Indonesia Doubles Wage Subsidies, Scraps Electricity Discount in Stimulus

In last-minute changes to a planned consumer stimulus package for June and July, the Indonesian government has cancelled an electricity discount but doubled wage subsidies.

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JAKARTA — In last-minute changes to a planned consumer stimulus package for June and July, the Indonesian government has cancelled an electricity discount but doubled wage subsidies.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati revealed in a press conference on June 2 that the wage subsidies for low-income earners would double from 150,000 rupiah (S$12) a month per individual to 300,000 rupiah.

Eligible beneficiaries include around 17.3 million workers earning up to 3.5 million rupiah a month and some 565,000 "honorary teachers," a term commonly used for honorarium-based contract teachers.

Dr. Mulyani explained that the subsidies would ultimately be financed by social security fund BPJS Ketenagakerjaan but that the government would set aside 10.72 trillion rupiah from the state coffers to "temporarily" fund the programme.

The wage subsidies are part of a series of measures aimed at boosting consumer spending.