Govt set to slightly increase minimum wages<\/p>\n
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Minimum wages for workers in the country are set to improve
\nslightly next year, with the government issuing a ruling
\nrequiring employers to add allowances for recreational activities
\nand compulsory savings to wages.<\/p>\n
Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration director general for
\nindustrial relations Musni Tambusai said the new components were
\nstipulated in Ministerial Decree No. 17\/2005.<\/p>\n
Musni made the announcement on Thursday after a meeting with
\nlabor unions and the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo).<\/p>\n
He said the decree meant minimum wages at the provincial and
\nregional level would be adjusted upward. The calculation of the
\nminimum wage is currently based on 44 components.<\/p>\n
The new policy was part of efforts to gradually raise labor
\nstandards in the country allow workers' wages to meet what the
\nministry called the standard human needs (KHL) level.<\/p>\n
Musni said the KHL target had not yet been met because of the
\ncountry's weak economy.<\/p>\n
The new decree replaces Ministerial Decree No. 81\/1995 and
\nforces employers to pay for workers to visit recreation centers
\nin nearby areas at least twice a year and to put aside at least 2
\npercent of their minimum wage in savings.<\/p>\n
\"With the new wage components, workers in Jakarta and
\noutskirts are expected to go to recreation centers such as the
\nRagunan Zoo, Indonesia in Miniature Park and Ancol Recreation
\nCenter at least twice a year and have a little savings in banks,\"
\nMusni said.<\/p>\n
Musni, however, could not say what the size of the minimum
\nwage increase would be next year.<\/p>\n
\"Besides the wage components, the minimum wages will also
\ndepend on productivity and inflation rates,\" he said, adding that
\nthe wage levels differed from one area to another.<\/p>\n
Labor unions had no other choice but to accept the new policy,
\nalthough they had been fighting for a greater hike in the minimum
\nwage level to meet the KHL target, as businesses here were still
\nfacing difficulties, he said.<\/p>\n
The secretary general of the Confederation of All-Indonesian
\nWorkers Union (KSPSI), Syukur Sarto, said labor unions were not
\nsatisfied with the new 46 wage components \"but we have to accept
\nthe decree because of the current economic condition.\"<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Apindo Chairman Sofjan Wanandi thanked workers for
\nnot forcing employers to immediately adopt the KHL target.<\/p>\n
\"Many employers have had headaches amid the (current) drastic
\nslide of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar. Many companies have
\nsuspended their operations because they can no longer buy dollars
\nto pay for imported raw materials,\" he said. Many employers would
\nlikely have to lay off part of their workforce if the crisis was
\nprolonged, he warned.<\/p>\n
Sofjan conceded the issue of the KHL was central to a long
\ndebate between employers and unions \"and both employers and
\nworkers have no alternative but to work hand-in-hand to help
\nbusinesses come out of the crisis. Then the KHL can be fully
\nimplemented at the right time.\"<\/p>\n
He suggested minimum wages be set once every two to three
\nyears to avoid annual disputes between employers and workers.<\/p>\n
Rigid labor regulations, strikes and problems with laying off
\nstaff, had made foreign investors reluctant to put their money in
\nIndonesia, he said.<\/p>",
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