Union leader seeks 15% hike in minimum wage<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A senior union leader is making a fresh call for
\nthe government to raise minimum wage levels across the country by
\nan average of 15 percent next year.<\/p>\n
Bomer Pasaribu, chairman of the Federation of the All-
\nIndonesia Workers Union, said yesterday that despite theories to
\nthe contrary, the productivity level of Indonesian workers has
\nincreased unaccompanied by wage increase.<\/p>\n
\"Here, productivity has increased but wages have decreased,\"
\nhe said after a meeting with a visiting delegation from the
\nAustralian College of Defense and Strategic Studies led by
\nAdmiral (ret) Ray Funnel.<\/p>\n
Taking workers' productivity levels into account, Indonesia
\npays the second lowest wages among ASEAN countries. Vietnamese
\nworkers are paid lower, but their productivity level is lower
\nthan Indonesian's.<\/p>\n
The call for a 15 percent raise was first made several months
\nago by Wilhelmus Bokha, Pasaribu's deputy chairman, who said the
\n15 percent increase would bring minimum wage levels in most
\nregions to the minimum subsistence level, taking into account
\nthis year's inflation.<\/p>\n
The union argued that the average official minimum wage is
\nstill only 92.5 percent of the minimum physical requirement,
\nwhich is calculated on the basis of the minimum calorie intake
\nrequired for a worker's subsistence.<\/p>\n
The government usually sets the new minimum wage levels for
\nall 27 provinces in Indonesia after consultation with
\nrepresentative employers and workers. The increases are announced
\nin December or January, and come into force in April.<\/p>\n
The minimum wage level in Jakarta is currently Rp 5,200
\n(US$2.25).<\/p>\n
The government has a mandate, under the Guidelines of State
\nPolicies drawn up in 1993, to bring the minimum wage levels up to
\nthe minimum physical requirement by 1998 at the latest.<\/p>\n
The minimum wage increases have been fewer in recent years
\namid increasing warnings from employers that too-rapid increases
\ncould render firms less competitive against foreign companies and
\nput them out of business altogether.<\/p>\n
This year, salaries rose by an average of 10.63 percent,
\ncompared to 18.65 percent in 1995, 30 percent in 1994 and 17.7 in
\n1993.<\/p>\n
As for the visit of the Australian College of Defense and
\nStrategic Studies, Pasaribu said the Australian government sees
\nIndonesia as a booming economy and has the potential to grow into
\none of the world's main economic forces in another ten years.
\n(05)<\/p>",
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