Private Employee THR Announced Simultaneously with ASN

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Ministry of Manpower has postponed the announcement of the circular letter regarding the provision of religious holiday allowances or THR for private sector workers in 2025. Initially, the ministry had promised that the announcement of the THR circular for private employees would be made today, Wednesday (5/3/2025) at 10:00 AM WIB.

The promise was even conveyed personally by the Minister of Manpower (Menaker) Yassierli while responding to media questions at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Tuesday (4/3/2025).

However, in the minutes leading up to the press conference, news emerged that the announcement of the circular letter regarding the provision of religious holiday allowances for private sector workers in 2025 was postponed. The plan is for the announcement to be made simultaneously with the announcement of the regulation on the provision of holiday allowances for civil servants.

Regarding the announcement time, Deputy Minister of Manpower Immanuel Ebenezer only estimated it would be within 1-2 days.

"Due to the flood disaster in several areas, such as Jabodetabek, it is ethically inappropriate to announce (empathy) in the midst of a disaster. However, this does not mean we will not issue the circular letter regarding the provision of holiday allowances for private sector employees," he explained to the media at the Ministry of Manpower office.

The circular regarding the provision of religious holiday allowances (THR) for private employees is mandated by the Minister of Manpower Regulation (Permenaker) Number 6 of 2016. This regulation governs workers' rights to receive, the amount, and the timing of THR payments. Employers are typically required to pay THR no later than 7 days before Eid.

Online motorcycle taxi THR

Regarding whether there will still be holiday allowances (THR) for online transportation drivers, such as online motorcycle taxi drivers, Immanuel stated that the discussion is not contentious. The discussion is currently in the finalization stage.

"It’s not a matter of being difficult. This (religious holiday allowance for online transportation drivers) is a groundbreaking initiative. Imagine, for 10 years there has been no holiday allowance for online transportation drivers," he said.

Minister of Manpower Yassierli, during a press conference, said that the government wants a win-win solution between the applicator and online transportation drivers. The Ministry of Manpower has met several times with the applicator or driver representatives.

"We prioritize dialogue, mutual understanding, and not mutual defense of attitudes. Therefore, the provisions of the THR provision formula for drivers are the result of deliberations between us, the applicator, and the driver. Several entrepreneurs have expressed their readiness," he said.

Neither Yassierli nor Immanuel mentioned whether the announcement of the provisions for providing THR for online transportation drivers would be made together with the circular on THR for private employees and regulations on THR for state civil servants.

"Cash," Yassierli answered when asked by the media what form the THR would take for online transportation drivers.

The Chairperson of the Indonesian Transport Workers Union (SPAI) Lily Pujiati, separately, said that drivers who break their partnerships do not receive severance pay. Money that is still sitting in the driver's application balance is usually automatically forfeited by the platform on the grounds of a fine.

Drivers have been working for the applicator. They buy their own attributes, such as helmets, jackets, and luggage bags. They have also spent a lot of operational costs, including gasoline, parking, credit, vehicle service, and cellphone installments.

"With such a situation, the applicator must comply with the applicable labor laws in Indonesia. They should be required to pay THR. We urge the government to have the courage to require platform companies to pay THR in cash, not in the form of goods or Eid gifts," said Lily.

Chairman of the Wage Committee of the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) Subchan Gatot, when confirmed, said that his party had not seen the substance of the circular regarding the provision of religious THR for private employees in 2025. Thus, he could not comment further.

"Regarding THR, it is a normative right of workers that must be fulfilled by employers. So, if there is an employment relationship between the employer and the workforce, the employer is obliged to fulfill that normative right," he said.