Minimum wage one of core labor problems<\/p>\n
By Fauzi Abdullah<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The article by Amir Santoso which appeared in
\nthe Insight column of this newspaper on April 25 may be
\ninterpreted, among other things, as a call for further reflection
\non a number of points in our labor policy.<\/p>\n
Among these are workers' wages and welfare, the right to
\norganize and the supervision of industries, as well as prevention
\nof collusion between government officials and businessmen.<\/p>\n
I feel enticed to respond to that call because any discussion
\nof the problem brings us to the structural causes of the labor
\nunrest in Medan and elsewhere. Given the span which those
\npolicies cover, this article will focus on the aspect of wage
\npolicies.<\/p>\n
There are three factors which call for our attention in regard
\nto this matter: the wage level, the definition of what
\nconstitutes wages and the process through which wage levels are
\ndetermined.<\/p>\n
At the time when Sudomo was minister of manpower, the
\ngovernment promised to set the minimum wage at a level equal to
\nthat of the minimum physical needs index of workers. Sudomo
\npromised that regional minimum wages would be set at the same
\nlevel as the minimum physical need level for 1988 (the end of the
\nFourth Five Year Development Period, Pelita IV).<\/p>\n
Later, another manpower minister, Cosmas Batubara, also
\nclearly stated that the minimum wage level would be the same as
\nthis index figure at the end of the Fifth Five Year Development
\nPeriod Pelita V in March of this year, and that the minimum wage
\nwould thereafter be measured on the basis of the minimum living
\nneeds index, which is 20 percent above the level of the minimum
\nphysical needs index.<\/p>\n
What is happening now? In a number of regions minimum wages
\nare still below the minimum physical needs level. One of the
\nposters carried by the strikers in Medan proclaimed: \"Rp 3,100 is
\nonly enough for meals.\" Rp 3,100 is the minimum wage for Medan.<\/p>\n
And it should be noted that the minimum physical needs
\nstandard that is being used as a yardstick is valid for
\nbachelors, while many workers have families. Thus, the workers
\nwere dissatisfied not only with their adverse conditions but with
\nthe unfulfilled promises. Add to this the fact that they must
\nstruggle to survive amid the opulent lifestyle that is being
\ndisplayed by a few people.<\/p>\n
On the second point: The definition of wages in the minimum
\nwage regulations is not very clear on the question of who the
\nminimum wage is intended to apply to. Does it apply to workers
\nwho are in the lowest positions -- with zero years of experience
\n-- or to all workers? This vagueness gives employers the
\nopportunity to equate those who have only just been employed with
\nthose with years of experience as far as wages are concerned. It
\nis not surprising that in a number of strikes one of the workers'
\ndemands has been that wages be set proportionate to the level of
\nexperience.<\/p>\n
This definition is also vague on the matter of wage
\ncomponents. The minimum wage regulation says that the regional
\nminimum wage consists of the basic salary, amounting to at least
\n75 percent of the total take-home pay, and regular bonuses
\namounting to a maximum of 25 percent of the total wage.<\/p>\n
The regulation does not make clear what is meant by regular
\nbonuses.<\/p>\n
Only a few regional offices of the Ministry of Manpower, among
\nthem the Jakarta branch, have issued circulars explaining what
\nconstitutes regular bonuses. As a consequence many factories
\ninclude all sorts of components in the minimum wage count.
\nHowever, when workers are absent from work with validated excuses
\nthey are paid only the basic salary, which is less than the
\nminimum wage.<\/p>\n
In other words, the vagueness of the definition provides
\nemployers with a tool for controlling their workers -- to force
\nthem to work so that their already meager salaries are not
\nslashed. This is also a tool for prodding workers who have worked
\nfor longer periods to quit, since their wages are put on a par
\nwith that of new workers.<\/p>\n
As is well known, the process of wage determination is a
\nclosed one and it takes a long time to complete. Minimum wage
\nproposals for any region are submitted by the Regional Wage
\nExamination Board (DPPD) to the governor of the province in order
\nto get his recommendation.<\/p>\n
This recommendation, together with the original proposal, is
\nthen sent to the Minister of Manpower for approval. The Minister
\nof Manpower's Regulation No.1 and Regulation No. 20, dated 1971,
\nprohibit the disclosure of any papers, reports or notes drawn up
\nby the DPPD and DPPN, except to members of the board.<\/p>\n
Neither the workers nor the public know what considerations
\nare used to determine the regional minimum wage for any given
\nperiod or region, and much less do they have a say in the
\nprocess.<\/p>\n
Thus they only get to know the decision and they are faced
\nwith the choice of either using it as a basis for making claims
\nwhen the real wages are below the regional minimum wage level,
\nmisapplying it by regarding the regional minimum wage as just the
\nbasic salary, thus demanding food and transport money, premiums
\nand other benefits, or openly opposing it, as happened in Medan.<\/p>\n
If this policy making process, so important to workers,
\nremains closed and continues to be done in conditions in which
\nthe freedom to organize are quite limited, neither dialog nor
\nnegotiation can occur in the determination of policies and in the
\nsolution of conflicts.<\/p>\n
If such a process of dialog fails to occur over an extended
\nperiod of time, the capability of societal groups, workers in
\nparticular, to negotiate will decline because of the lack of
\nfamiliarity or exercise. If this is what is now happening, then
\ngreater trouble can be expected in the future.<\/p>\n
The writer is the head of a labor study-center based in Bogor.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/minimum-wage-one-of-core-labor-problems-1447898607", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }