Ridwan Max Sijabat, Batam – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to inaugurate ten low-cost apartment developments that are expected to provide affordable rooms to thousands of workers in Batam, Riau Islands.
The director general of industrial relations and social security affairs at the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, Irianto Simbolon, said that the new developments might provide an example on how decent housing could be provided to workers in the nation's industrial areas.
"Besides private developers, employers will be asked to provide dormitories or develop such affordable apartments for their workers because housing is vital for workers, especially those working in industrial areas," he said.
Some of Batam's 300,000 workers were illegal squatters on the island because housing prices and rents had soared, while most workers were still paid the municipal minimum wage, he said.
Irianto said that the government would also build 40 low-cost apartment complexes for workers in Bekasi, West Java, and Tangerang, Banten, this year. The government has also earmarked Rp 13 billion (US$1.41 million) in subsidies to help workers buy their own homes.
Jamsostek president director Hotbonar Sinaga said that ten units of twin blocks worth Rp 120 billion inside the Kabil industrial area would be made available to workers for Rp 480,000 a month per room.
"All rooms are air conditioned with four beds, cupboards and a kitchen that can accommodate four unmarried workers. If they are fully occupied, the four-story twin flats can accommodate a total of 4,000 workers," he said.
Hotbonar said that the Rp 120,000 rental payment required of participants would not be a burden for workers as it was still lower than rents that workers typically paid for rooms in the area.
Jamsostek previously built two similar residential developments in Muka Kuning and Lancang Kuning industrial areas in Batam and a third in the Jababeka Industrial Estate in Cikarang in Bekasi, West Java, all of which were fully occupied.
Hotbonar said that Jamsostek would not look to profit from the project and considered the work as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. "The housing program is paid for with revolving funds that will continue to accumulate and will allow us to build more in other areas," Hotbonar said.
He added that Jamsostek has also earmarked Rp 800 billion from its profits in 2011 to provide mortgages for workers and for an education fund for workers' children.