The Jakarta administration announced Thursday the monthly minimum wage in 2008 would go up from Rp 900,560 to Rp 972,604 (about US$107), an 8 percent increase.<\/p>\n
\"The decision was based on our assumption that Jakarta's economic growth will reach 6.7 percent next year,\" Governor Fauzi Bowo said at City Hall.<\/p>\n
A gubernatorial regulation has been issued on the 2008 Jakarta minimum wage.<\/p>\n
\"Our second assumption is that 2008's inflation rate, expected at between 6.2 and 6.6 percent, will be slightly higher than 6 percent this year,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Inflation in Jakarta reached 17.11 percent in 2005, 6.6 percent in 2006 and 5.24 percent as of October this year, according to the Jakarta Statistics Agency.<\/p>\n
He said the administration also considered its study that concluded Jakartans would need to earn at least Rp 1,055,275 a month to live \"decently\" in the capital next year.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta minimum wage, Fauzi said, functioned as a social safety net that protected workers by keeping their wages above a \"level where their health and nutritional needs are at risk\".<\/p>\n
He said he hoped the new minimum wage would not place too heavy a burden on companies in the capital.<\/p>\n
The administration has gradually increased the provincial minimum wage from Rp 711,843 in 2005 to Rp 819,100 in 2006 and Rp 900,560 this year, despite opposition from employers.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakarta-raises-minimum-wage-8-1194052578", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }