Jakarta – The Jakarta administration claimed that throughout 2018 it had distributed 3,070 worker cards to its residents, specifically those whose salaries are no more than 10 percent above the provincial minimum wage, which is Rp 3.6 million (US$236.76) per month.
The cards have been distributed since November, with the latest simultaneous distribution event on Monday. As many as 1,564 workers in five cities across the province received cards that day.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan symbolically handed the cards to city residents during the event, which was held at wholesale food market JakGrosir, which is managed by city-owned market operator PD Pasar Jaya in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta.
"The total number of beneficiaries in Jakarta is 3,070 [residents]. We handed over 1,564 cards today. With these cards, workers' expenses can be reduced," Anies told journalists after the event.
With the Worker Card, the city's workers are able to use Transjakarta buses for free and shop in JakGrosir, which sells affordable staple foods.
Their children would also receive cash assistance distributed through the Jakarta Smart Card program that they could use to buy subsidized food such as fish, chicken and milk.
Jakarta Manpower and Transmigration Agency head Andri Yansyah said the administration was currently verifying 2,245 applicants.
"The number [of Worker Card applicants] would continue to increase along with the completion of data submitted by worker unions and labor associations or collected by our agency team," he said. (sau/ebf)