After a Long Journey of Resolving Honorary Workers

For a long time, honorary workers have been the backbone of public services, especially in the sectors of education, health, and administration. They work with low salaries, without certainty of status, and with minimal social security.

The long journey has now reached a turning point as the government has confirmed that honorary workers will be appointed as Government Employees with Work Agreements this year. However, after all honorary workers are settled and appointed as state civil apparatus, there remains other work that must receive the government's attention.

Among the honorary staff, Intan, for instance, has been serving as an honorary midwife at the Wajok Hulu Community Health Center, West Kalimantan, since 2019. As a midwife at the health center, her duties include maternal and child health services, family planning, and public health.

Although enjoying her work as a midwife, Intan felt that something was still missing, namely being appointed as a civil servant (PNS). Therefore, since 2020, she has been striving to achieve this goal. She participated once in the selection process for prospective State Civil Apparatus (ASN) and three times in the selection for becoming a government employee with a work agreement. On her last attempt, Intan was finally declared to have passed the selection and will soon be appointed.

"I am very happy because I have been waiting for a long time (to be appointed as a civil servant). Moreover, now I am placed at the community health center where I work," he said, contacted from Jakarta, Wednesday (19/3/2025).

Based on Law Number 5 of 2014 concerning State Civil Apparatus (ASN), ASN is divided into two categories, namely Civil Servants (PNS) with permanent status and various benefits, and Government Employees with Work Agreements (PPPK) who have fixed-term contracts.

For Intan, the certainty of becoming a PPPK is very important because she receives the same salary and benefits as civil servants. She is also entitled to a salary increase if her performance evaluation is good and has the opportunity to fill certain positions.

The confirmation of the appointment of prospective PPPK candidates along with prospective civil servants was conveyed by Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi and Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Rini Widyantini, on Monday (17/3/2025).

Previously, there was a government plan to postpone the appointment schedule for CASN from the 2024 recruitment. The appointment of CPNS, which was originally scheduled for February 22 to March 23, 2025 and PPPK participants stage 1 was scheduled to be appointed in February 2025 and stage 2 in July 2025, was postponed to CPNS appointment in October 2025 and PPPK in March 2026. However, after receiving criticism, President Prabowo Subianto decided to accelerate the appointment of CASN, to the latest in June 2025, while PPPK was the latest in October 2025.

Based on data from the Ministry of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform (Kemenpan and RB), there are a total of 248,970 CPNS and 1,017,111 PPPK candidates from the 2024 recruitment that must be appointed. The CASN selection has been carried out starting in August 2024, PPPK stage 1 starting in September 2024, and PPPK stage 2 in January 2025.

According to Rini, the appointment of honorary workers to become PPPK is the last affirmative step from the government to complete honorary workers. "With the 2024 PPPK acceptance process, this policy is expected to be the last affirmative policy and will be completed this year," said Rini.

At the same time, all government agencies have been prohibited from hiring any more honorary staff.

Before the PPPK scheme, thousands of honorary workers were spread across various government institutions. They were recruited as teachers, midwives, or in other professions, with a non-uniform contract system and often worked with honorariums far below the minimum wage standard.

The income of an honorary teacher in Siulak District, Kerinci Regency, Jambi, for example, is IDR 66,000 per month (Kompas, 11/19/2024). That money is not enough to meet the average living needs of Indonesian people of IDR 1.02 million per month based on BPS 2024 data. With minimal income, many teachers work side jobs as construction workers or online motorcycle taxi drivers.

This inequality has become a long debate, especially after category two honorary workers (THK-2) failed to obtain civil servant (PNS) status due to the moratorium on PNS appointments since 2014. THK-2 is the status of honorary workers who meet certain criteria and are registered in the National Civil Service Agency (BKN) database.

They are generally appointed by authorized officials and have worked in government agencies for a minimum of 1 year as of December 31, 2005 and are still working continuously or have a work period of up to 20 years.

In 2023, the affirmative policy for senior honorary workers was strengthened, providing greater opportunities for those who have served for a long time. As President Joko Widodo's term of office ends in 2024, the government has ensured that the status of honorary workers will be resolved.

With the policy of eliminating honorary workers according to Government Regulation Number 49 of 2018, honorary workers who meet the criteria will be officially appointed as PPPK. In addition, it is strengthened by Law Number 20 of 2023 concerning ASN, especially in Article 66, which emphasizes that non-ASN employees or other names must complete their arrangements no later than December 2024.

Although the PPPK recruitment scheme is a new hope, the journey is not always smooth. Many honorary workers who have worked for years have difficulty meeting administrative requirements and passing the selection test. The issue of welfare is also a concern, because PPPK does not have pension benefits like PNS.

The long journey towards certainty has reached a bright spot after the government opened priority registration for category two honorary workers to register for the CPNS and PPPK selection in 2024. This is based on the mandate in Article 66 of the ASN Law.

The government's seriousness in organizing honorary workers can be seen from the opening of the largest formation in the 2024 CASN selection for the PPPK formation, which is 1,031,554 out of a total of 1,280,547 formations. In addition, functional positions for teachers and health workers are placed as priority applicants in second place. So it can be concluded that 2024 will be a lucky year for honorary workers in the THK-II category, especially teachers and health workers, because they are prioritized to be appointed.

The 2024 PPPK selection will be carried out using a computer assisted test (CAT) with the determination of graduation based on the best ranking. The test is used to measure the quality and competence of honorary workers, the assessment will be carried out through the best ranking in sequence. Those who pass the selection will then be appointed as ASN PPPK with various benefits that come with it.

Indonesian Regional Autonomy Expert Djohermansyah Johan appreciates the plan to appoint honorary workers to become PPPK. However, he also emphasized that the government must also pay attention to improving skills and training for PPPK so that they have the same capacity as PNS.

"So far, the workload of PPPK has been heavier than PNS. Honorary and PPPK workers are experienced, but their status is still considered as 'the young onion' or second-class ASN," said Djohermansyah.

According to him, one of the main shortcomings in the PPPK system so far is the minimal attention to human resource development. Unlike civil servants who routinely receive education and training, PPPK do not have the same access to improving their competence. Therefore, he asked the government to ensure that PPPK competence continues to develop through ongoing training so that they can work more effectively and professionally.

"They should receive fair treatment from the state, because it will increase their enthusiasm in working. They should also be able to participate in various trainings that have so far only been for civil servants," he said.

The long journey of honorary workers towards recognition as ASN is now almost at its peak. With the appointment of honorary workers as PPPK, it is hoped that the welfare of public employees will increase, and the government work system will become more professional.

For those who have long served in uncertainty, this is a long-awaited victory. However, the government is expected to not only provide certainty of status, but also guarantee welfare and fair treatment for PPPK, especially by opening up opportunities for competency development equivalent to PNS.