Daily basic wage level up by 10%<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief said yesterday
\nthat the government will increase the regional daily minimum wage
\nlevel nationwide by ten percent as of April next year.<\/p>\n
\"We will increase the regional daily minimum wage level
\nnationwide from 97 percent to 107 percent of the workers' minimum
\nphysical needs,\" Latief said in a hearing with Commission VI of
\nthe House of Representatives (DPR).<\/p>\n
However, he told the commission, which deals with industrial
\nand labor affairs, that the government would gradually increase
\nthe minimum wage level by 15 percent or equal to the required
\nminimum needed by the workers.<\/p>\n
Members of the commission welcomed the government's plan to
\nincrease worker's regional daily minimum wages.<\/p>\n
Iskandar Mandji, a Golkar legislator, even demanded an
\nautomatic proportional increase in minimum wages for each
\nproduction sector.<\/p>\n
\"Every employer must be able to calculate the automatic
\nincrease in wages each time the government hikes certain tariffs,
\nsuch as its usual increases in electricity billing rates,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Latief said the government would object to some multinational
\ncompanies' move to relocate their factories to Indonesia if their
\nmotive was simply cheap labor.<\/p>\n
\"The government cannot accept any multinational company's
\npolicy to keep working wages low while their production costs are
\nin fact also low,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"How can we talk about productivity when the workers are
\nhungry?\" he added.<\/p>\n
Farid Akhwan, also a legislator of the Golkar faction, agreed
\nwith Latief's argument.<\/p>\n
\"Productivity will automatically follow the workers' level of
\nwelfare.\" he said.<\/p>\n
In many regions, including Jakarta and West Java, the minimum
\nwages are now close to meeting the worker's minimum physical
\nneeds, which are calculated on the basis of local consumer index
\nprices.<\/p>\n
But in a number of regions, the minimum wages are still barely
\n60 percent of what is minimally needed to survive.<\/p>\n
The regional daily minimum wage for the greater Jakarta area
\nwas raised in January to Rp 3,800 (US$1.8) from a previous Rp
\n3,000.<\/p>\n
However, it is still below that of Batam, a flourishing
\nindustrial designated zone south of Singapore, and Irian Jaya,
\nwith the minimum daily wage set at Rp 6,750 and Rp 4,500,
\nrespectively. Batam and Irian Jaya rank as the two highest
\nminimum wage levels in the country.<\/p>\n
Review<\/p>\n
Latief said the government was currently reviewing the minimum
\nwage regulations and strengthening punitive measures against
\nviolators to ensure greater compliance.<\/p>\n
He said the government had drafted a bill which includes
\nstronger penalties for violators, usually those failing to pay
\nthe minimum wage. The bill is expected to be ready for
\ndeliberation in April.<\/p>\n
Under the present regulation enacted in Law No. 14\/1969, a
\ncompany owner who does not pay his workers the required minimum
\nwage faces a maximum of three months in jail, or a fine of Rp
\n100,000.<\/p>\n
Latief said the government will not hesitate to prosecute
\ncompany owners who ignored the minimum wage regulations. The
\nregulations allow for exceptions if the companies' finances
\nprevent them from paying the minimum wage levels.<\/p>\n
He said companies seeking to be exempted must prove in court
\nthat they truly could not pay the minimum wages.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Director General for Labor Standards and Industrial
\nRelations Suwarto said after the hearing that 16 companies had
\nbeen fined for failure to pay the minimum wage and to comply with
\nother government labor regulations.<\/p>\n
He said another 94 companies were either being prosecuted or
\ninvestigated for violating the regulations. (imn)<\/p>",
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