UNAIR NEWS – The Minister of Manpower (Kemnaker) plans to issue a circular (SE) for companies to pay the holiday allowance (THR) in installments like the previous year. Looking at the plan, a lecturer of Faculty of Law, Universitas Airlangga ( UNAIR ), Dr. M. Hadi Shubhan, S.H., M.H., C.N. gave his views.
Technically and in norms, the lecturer often called Hadi explained that the circular would have violated the rules. As the Ministry Regulation Number. 6 of 2016 stated that private companies must provide workers’ holiday allowance no later than seven days before holidays. Moreover, Hadi mentioned that there is a Government Regulation (PP) No. 36 of 2021 which will impose five percent fine to the company if there is a delay in giving workers’ allowance.
“Does it violate the regulation? Indeed. However, referring to the current pandemic situation, I see that the Ministry of Manpower’s circular is understandable. By looking at the crisis in the field, the most important thing is not about workers getting their allowance or not, but workers can still work or not, “explained the 47-year-old lecturer.
Furthermore, the lecturer who is also Director of Student Affairs at UNAIR said that neither party benefited from the circular. For the companies, said Hadi, the circular is a discretion for the company’s financial condition. Meanwhile for the government, the regulation was a counterweight to keep the corporate sector running.
Cannot be generalized
Although he assessed that the holiday allowance (THR) installment during the pandemic period is understandable, the lecturer who was born on April 6, 1973 emphasized that the circular cannot be generalized to all companies. According to him, a company that is still capable and has a margin in its financial statements must still provide workers with THR rights according to the time limit. However, if the company experiences a crisis or a loss during the pandemic, then the THR in installments is allowed.
“This is why the labor inspectors at the local Manpower Office must be reinforced. Every company must be transparent about its financial condition! Do not let the company actually take advantage of the moment and deny workers’ rights, “he emphasized.
Workers must understand the situation
Asked about the fate of workers, the lecturer in Labor Law course hoped that workers can understand the circular by looking at the current pandemic situation which is detrimental to various industrial sectors. Furthermore, continued Hadi, the government’s ban on holiday exodus made THR less urgent for workers.
“Actually, the ban on going home is to prevent the spread of Covid-19, but indirectly the ban has implications for the fate of workers as THR is given in installments. So, the relevance of THR is not as important as normal conditions, “he explained.
However, Hadi appealed to companies to understand the conditions of workers by giving THR according to the amount regulated and in the form of money. “Do not just demand workers to understand the situation, but the company itself is not transparent and is indifferent to the fate of workers,” he said.
Finally, Hadi hoped that the state will continue to supervise the conditions of each company so that the implementation of the circular can be effective.
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Author: Nikmatus Sholikhah
Editor: Feri Fenoria
