TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A nurse of the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital (RSPI), Anitha Supriono, said she had yet to receive the financial incentive of Rp7.5 million the government promised for frontline nurses grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anitha is one of the many nurses treating COVID-19 positive patients in the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU).

“We have yet to receive the incentives, which were reportedly worth Rp7.5 million at maximum,” Anitha told Tempo on Sunday, May 24, 2020.

Anitha, who said she was in the dark about the reasons behind the non-disbursement of the incentives, explained the nurses were longing for the incentives, particularly those whose Eid holiday bonuses (THR) were slashed.

“Many of my colleagues at private hospitals told me the sad news that they did not receive THR,” she added.

Anitha said she still received a full salary and holiday bonus thanks to her status as a civil servant, but added that might not be the case for her colleagues at private hospitals.

On March 23, President Joko Widodo or Jokowi promised to provide monthly financial incentives for frontline health workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

The amounts of the incentives vary from Rp5-15 million monthly: Rp15 million for specialist doctors, Rp10 million for general practitioners and nutritionists, Rp7.5 million for midwives and nurses, and Rp5 million for other medical staff.

BUDIARTI UTAMI PUTRI