Tangerang will likely see 10% wage hike next year<\/p>\n
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang<\/p>\n
While the Jakarta administration has decided to increase the
\nminimum wage by 7 percent starting in January, Tangerang, whose
\ncurrent minimum wage is similar to Jakarta's, will likely
\nimplement a 10 percent increase in 2003.<\/p>\n
A tripartite committee consisting of representatives from
\nlabor unions, employers and the Tangerang municipal manpower
\nagency, agreed on Wednesday to issue a recommendation to the
\nTangerang mayor for an increase in the minimum wage of about 10
\npercent, from Rp 590,000 to Rp 649,000.<\/p>\n
Independent labor activists agreed with the 10 percent
\nincrease, even though they said that if approved the new minimum
\nwage would still not be enough on which to live.<\/p>\n
Kasmina, chairwoman of the workers union at PT Hyun Indonesia
\nGarment, said workers agreed not to ask for more money because
\nthey realized businesses were suffering from the sluggish economy
\nand they wanted to avoid massive layoffs.<\/p>\n
\"We want the relationship between workers and businesses to be
\nmaintained, even though the workers are placed in a bad position
\nwhenever they ask for more money,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Citing a wage survey conducted by the Federation of Karya
\nUtama Labor Associations (FSBKU) between May and September 2002,
\nKasmina said the minimum monthly spending of workers in Tangerang
\nranged between Rp 800,000 and Rp 1,200,000, far above the
\nproposed new minimum wage of Rp 649,000.<\/p>\n
\"If the Tangerang mayor approves the proposed 10 percent wage
\nincrease, the new wage will only cover 50 percent of the total
\nactual spending of workers,\" Kasmina told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Data from the Tangerang Manpower Agency shows that eight
\ncompanies in the municipality went out of business in 2001 and 11
\nshut down this year.<\/p>\n
Currently, there are 1,419 companies in the Tangerang
\nmunicipality.<\/p>\n
Yusuf Makatita, chairman of the Tangerang branch of the
\nIndonesian Workers Association (SPSI), said the proposed 10
\npercent wage increase was based on a recent statistical survey
\nthat predicted inflation here would reach 9.5 percent this year.<\/p>\n
Helmi, of the Tangerang branch of the Indonesian Employers
\nAssociation (Apindo), told the Post that employers agreed to a
\nwage increase that used the Jakarta minimum wage as a reference
\npoint.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Tangerang municipal manpower agency chief,
\nAdang Turwana, said Mayor M. Thmarin would likely approve the
\nproposed 10 percent increase in the 2003 minimum wage.<\/p>\n
He said the minimum living expenses (KHM) in Tangerang was the
\nmain factor in deciding the new minimum wage. There were five
\nother factors considered in the decision: the price index, the
\nhealth of local companies, minimum wage in Tangerang's
\nsurrounding areas, the condition of the job market and overall
\neconomic progress.<\/p>\n
He said a joint survey by the tripartite committee on the
\nprice of 43 basic goods at three markets in Tangerang between May
\nand October 2002, concluded that the KHM in Tangerang was Rp
\n614,504.<\/p>\n
\"If Mayor M. Thmarin is willing to approve a new wage above Rp
\n614,504, it means that the mayor has the political will to
\nimprove the welfare of workers,\" he told the Post.<\/p>\n
Separately, Hamdani Malik, chief of industrial relations at
\nthe manpower agency in Tangerang regency, said his office would
\nhold a tripartite committee meeting involving employers and labor
\nunions to discuss the regency's 2003 minimum wage on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"But the wage hike in the regency will not be far different
\nfrom the newly approved Jakarta minimum wage,\" he said.<\/p>\n
There are 2,363 companies operating in the regency. Last year,
\nthree companies reported the closure of their businesses to the
\nagency, while so far this year that number is four.<\/p>",
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