33 firms seek minimum wage delay
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)