Govt delays decision on minimum wage<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government will not announce increases in
\nthe minimum wage level until the end of January, Minister of
\nManpower Abdul Latief said yesterday.<\/p>\n
While not giving reasons for the delay, Latief said
\nrepresentatives of the government, workers' unions and employers
\nwere still deliberating on the size of increases.<\/p>\n
Last year's minimum wage hikes were announced at the beginning
\nof January. The 1996 increases over Indonesia's 27 provinces
\naveraged 10.63 percent.<\/p>\n
The daily minimum wage level for workers in Jakarta is
\ncurrently Rp 5,200 and the monthly level at Rp 156,000.<\/p>\n
The Federation of the All Indonesian Workers Union, the only
\nunion recognized by the government, last month said it was
\npushing for a 16 percent increase in minimum wage levels.<\/p>\n
Such an increase would bring the minimum wage levels closer to
\nwhat is officially defined as the minimum physical requirements,
\nor the amount of money deemed sufficient to purchase a daily food
\nintake of 3,000 calories for an unmarried person.<\/p>\n
The proposed increase will also cover inflation, which last
\nyear reached 6.7 percent.<\/p>\n
Employers' representatives have been unclear on what they
\nconsider the ideal increase, but the Indonesian Textile
\nAssociation complained last year's increase, and the changes in
\nwage regulations -- requiring companies to calculate wages on the
\nbasis of 30 days a month -- were too demanding.<\/p>\n
Latief said once minimum wage increases are agreed to and
\nannounced, employers would have more than three months to prepare
\nbefore the increases become effective on April 1.<\/p>\n
He declined to speculate on the size of the increase and
\nwhether it would be higher than the average of 10.63 percent
\ngranted last year. "Let us all be patient," he said.<\/p>\n
The government has received proposals from both unions and
\nemployer representatives. These proposals were now being
\ndiscussed at the National Wage Council, he said.<\/p>\n
He said the method of setting wages was "very democratic" and
\nthat the Indonesian model was now being adopted by other
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, Minister Latief told reporters at the
\nState Palace that the government would not review the wage
\nregulation requiring companies to calculate workers' wages on a
\nmonthly basis.<\/p>\n
The regulation essentially means daily laborers are paid for
\nthe Sundays they do not work.<\/p>\n
"I've heard the expression `no work no pay', but workers are
\nentitled to their Sunday's rest. They have to be paid," he said.<\/p>\n
He recalled he had already been sued by some companies at the
\nState Administrative Court on the matter and won the case.<\/p>\n
"The government remains consistent in protecting the rights of
\nworkers," he said.<\/p>\n
The government permits companies not to pay the minimum wages
\nunder certain special conditions such as financial difficulties.<\/p>\n
In 1996, according to Latief, 365 out of 44,565 companies
\napplied for exemption. Of those who applied, 269 were approved.
\nThey include 203 garment and textile companies, 28 shoe
\nproducers, 11 toy manufacturers and three leather companies.<\/p>\n
Latief disclosed that the number of workers' strikes last year
\nincreased by 26 percent to 901, comprising 414 strikes for
\n"normative" rights (demanding employers to meet their legal
\nobligations), and 487 for "non-normative" rights.<\/p>\n
Most encouraging about last year's strike figures was that
\nthere were fewer strikes over demands for "normative" rights,
\nLatief noted.<\/p>\n
This meant greater compliance by employers, he said.<\/p>\n
Most of the strikes were demands for even greater improvement
\nthan the minimum required by regulations, he said. (01\/emb)<\/p>",
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