Set minimum wages fairly: Minister<\/p>\n
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post<\/p>\n
Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Erman Suparno has called
\non his regional counterparts to remain neutral in negotiations
\nwith employers and workers in setting regional minimum wages.<\/p>\n
Partiality could otherwise spark industrial conflicts and
\ndisrupt political stability in the regions, he said.<\/p>\n
"Governors and regents\/mayors must play their roles as skilled
\nnegotiators to narrow the widening demands between employers and
\nworkers. They must be able to seek win-win solutions in
\ntripartite negotiations to set a fair minimum wage," he told The
\nJakarta Post here on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The central government no longer has the authority to
\ninterfere in minimum wage determinations due to regional autonomy
\nlaws.<\/p>\n
But Erman reminded regional administration heads that failure
\nto address the issue would ignite industrial conflict between
\nworkers and their employers and in turn raise security concerns.<\/p>\n
He was referring to massive labor rallies in North Sumatra,
\nWest Java, Banten and East Java over minimum wage levels that
\nworkers deemed as too low.<\/p>\n
"It is very important that regional government leaders are
\nopen to all aspirations, that employers understand their workers'
\ndaily needs, and that workers or labor unions understand the
\nfinancial situation of companies where they are employed," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Erman said he was monitoring the tripartite negotiations in
\nprovinces, regencies and mayoralties across the country.<\/p>\n
So far, 23 of 33 provinces have set their minimum monthly wage
\nfor the 2006 fiscal year with an increase of between 9.6 percent
\nand 36 percent.<\/p>\n
According to Ministerial Decree No. 1\/1999, decrees on minimum
\nwages are issued two months or 60 days before they come into
\neffect on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n
Jakarta has raised the minimum wage by 15 percent to Rp
\n819,100 (US$83) from the current Rp 711,843, while North Sumatra
\nwill see a 23 percent increase to Rp 737,794 from the current Rp
\n600,000.<\/p>\n
The highest increase of 36 percent will apply in Riau Islands
\nprovince, where workers will receive Rp 760,000 compared to the
\ncurrent level of Rp 557,000.<\/p>\n
The size of the increases are normally determined in
\naccordance with the inflation rate of the previous year.<\/p>\n
Asked about the planned mass dismissals at Bank Danamon and PT
\nIndofood Sukses Makmur, the minister said the two companies had
\ncomplied with the law.<\/p>\n
"I have summoned the management of the two companies to check
\nthe reasons behind their decision. So far, I see no problems.
\nThey decided to cut some of their employees in a bid to
\ndiversify their businesses. The problem is that employees from
\nclosed units do not meet the job competencies needed for the new
\nunits," he said.<\/p>\n
Indofood, Indonesia's largest instant noodle producer, has
\nproposed to dismiss at least 4,000 of its 50,000 workers, while
\npublicly listed PT Bank Danamon plans to dismiss 450 workers from
\nthe their soft-loan credit unit, which would be closed down.<\/p>\n
Provincial minimum wages in 2006<\/p>\n
Province % increase 2005 2006<\/p>\n
Aceh 21 Rp 620,000 Rp 750,000<\/p>\n
North Sumatra 23 Rp 600,000 Rp 737,794<\/p>\n
Riau 15 Rp 551,500 Rp 637,000<\/p>\n
Riau Islands 36 Rp 557,000 Rp 760,000<\/p>\n
Jambi 16 Rp 485,000 Rp 563,000
\n
\nSouth Sumatra 20 Rp 503,700 Rp 604,000<\/p>\n
Bangka-Belitung 14 Rp 560,000 Rp 640,000<\/p>\n
Bengkulu 20 Rp 430,000 Rp 516,000<\/p>\n
West Java 9.6 Rp 408,260 Rp 447,654<\/p>\n
Jakarta 15 Rp 711,843 Rp 819,100<\/p>\n
Banten 13 Rp 585,000 Rp 661,613<\/p>\n
West Java 15 Rp 390,000 Rp 450,000<\/p>\n
Yogyakarta 15 Rp 400,000 Rp 460,000<\/p>\n
East Java 15 Rp 340,000 Rp 390,000<\/p>\n
Bali 14 Rp 447,500 Rp 510,000<\/p>\n
W. Nusa Tenggara 16 Rp 475,000 Rp 550,000<\/p>\n
E. Nusa Tenggara 22 Rp 450,000 Rp 550,000<\/p>\n
West Kalimantan 15 Rp 445,200 Rp 512,000<\/p>\n
South Kalimantan 17 Rp 536,300 Rp 629,000<\/p>\n
East Kalimantan 14 Rp 600,000 Rp 684,000<\/p>\n
Maluku 15 Rp 500,000 Rp 575,000<\/p>\n
Southeast Sulawesi 15 Rp 498,600 Rp 573,400<\/p>\n
South Sulawesi 20 Rp 510,000 Rp 612,000<\/p>\n
Source: Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/set-minimum-wages-fairly-minister-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }