Employers to blame for strike wave: Board<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The National Board for Assessment of Wages
\n(DPPN) has blamed employers' failure to pay their workers the new
\nminimum wage for the current spate of labor strikes.<\/p>\n
Board secretary L.E. Lubis denied press reports that the
\nstrikes were the result of ambiguities in the government
\nregulation on the minimum wage.<\/p>\n
Although the government's minimum wage regulation states that
\nthe minimum wage does not include all allowances, employers have
\ntended to include the allowances in their workers' salaries in
\norder to create the illusion that they are paying the minimum
\nwage.<\/p>\n
\"The current wave of industrial strikes has been triggered by
\nemployers' failure to comply with the government's minimum wage
\npolicy,\" Lubis told a press conference.<\/p>\n
He said many companies had \"misinterpreted\" the minimum wage
\nregulation and included the various allowances in their workers'
\nnet salaries.<\/p>\n
Dozens of strikes have occurred in Java alone since the
\ngovernment's new minimum wage regulation came into effect at the
\nbeginning of this month. Striking workers have claimed that their
\nemployers are not complying with the new, higher wage levels.<\/p>\n
The daily minimum wage in Jakarta and West Java has been
\nraised by 21 percent, from Rp 3,800 to Rp 4,600 (US$2.10); in
\nCentral Java by 11 percent, from Rp 2,700 to Rp 3,000; and in
\nEast Java by 23 percent, from Rp 3,000 to Rp 3,700.<\/p>\n
Deputies of the All Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI) Djoko
\nDaulat and Suradi Idris have said that the labor strikes,
\nespecially those in Java, were triggered by a lack of clarity in
\nthe government regulation.<\/p>\n
They said last week that the regulation could be interpreted
\nas saying that the new minimum wage was the old salary plus all
\nallowances.<\/p>\n
\"This is the center of current worker protests,\" Djoko said.<\/p>\n
Lubis said that many companies had deceived their workers by
\nadding all the allowances to their basic wages.<\/p>\n
\"Employers who play such tricks can be brought to trial on
\ncriminal charges,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Mudjianto, a member of the Association of Indonesian Employers
\n(Apindo), acknowledged that many labor-intensive companies in
\nJakarta, West Java and East Java had intentionally added all
\nallowances to the basic salaries to make it appear that they had
\ncomplied with the minimum wage policy.<\/p>\n
\"Such companies should be punished,\" he said, adding that the
\ngovernment had provided employers with ample time to prepare
\nthemselves for the new wage levels prior to their introduction.<\/p>\n
Before the regulation became effective, the government offered
\nhelp, including a grace period, to companies who could show that
\npaying the higher wages would cause them financial hardship.<\/p>\n
Willem Bokha, a DPPN member from the All Indonesian Workers
\nUnion (SPSI), said it should be acknowledged that, in spite of
\nthe increase in the minimum daily wage, the level of wages in
\nIndonesia was still low compared with other Asian countries.<\/p>\n
\"Both the government and employers should realize that the
\nwage level in the country is still low and, therefore, efforts
\nshould be made to improve workers' well-being,\" he said. (rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/employers-to-blame-for-strike-wave-board-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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