33 firms seek minimum wage delay

JAKARTA (JP): Thirty-three companies want the Jakarta office of the Ministry of Manpower to postpone the implementation of the new minimum wage regulation.

The head of the office, Freddy Tuamelly, said yesterday that the 33 companies have reported that they cannot comply with the regulation. They want the office to issue them official permits enabling them to delay the enforcement of the regulation.

There are a total of 22,900 companies in Jakarta.

"Originally my office received proposals from 40 companies requesting that they be allowed to delay the enforcement of the new minimum wage regulation. Seven of them have since agreed to comply with it," Freddy said.

He said the companies making the request produce textiles, shoes and toys.

He explained that most of the companies object to the third clause of the regulation which requires them to pay the workers wages for 30 days monthly although they work only 25 days.

He said his office is still reviewing the proposals from the 33 companies and will investigate their reasons for not wanting to pay the new minimum wage before making a decision.

If the office finds out that the companies are facing financial difficulties, they will be allowed to delay enforcing the minimum wage regulation for a set period of time, Freddy said.

"Maybe we can give them three or six months to delay implementing the regulation, but we will not permit them to delay if for one year," he said.

He explained that if the companies are given a one-year grace period, it could be even harder for them to obey the regulation because there is a possibility the government will increase wages again next year.

The government recently announced that the minimum daily wage for workers in Jakarta would rise from Rp 4,600 (US$2) to Rp 5,200 per day as of April 1.

Last year the government decided to increase the minimum wage in Jakarta from Rp 3,800 to Rp 4,600 per day.

The government allows companies to delay the enforcement of the regulation by filing a proposal with the manpower ministry. (yns)