Activist bemoans low minimum wage rise

JAKARTA (JP): An outspoken labor activist said yesterday that the recent 10.6 percent raise in daily minimum wages will improve the productivity of workers.

Wilhelmus Bokha, the deputy chairman of the All-Indonesia Workers Union Federation, said that the wage standard in Indonesia is so low that even after the increase it remains among the lowest in Southeast Asia.

Bokha doubts if workers will even be able to meet their basic needs with their new take-home pay. "But I appreciate the raise anyway. Without the increase, the condition would worsen," he told The Jakarta Post.

An unmarried worker living in Jakarta, Bekasi or Bogor should earn at least Rp 10,000 (US$4.20) per day, Bokha suggested.

"The current Rp 5,200 standard is not adequate to cover daily meals and transportation to the workplace. There is no way the workers can buy even a simple house," he said.

The latest pay hike became effective on April 1. It has since met fierce opposition from labor-intensive small and middle-sized companies which fear the policy will push them to eventual bankruptcy.

However, Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief, himself a successful businessman, has repeatedly made it clear that he will not back down from enforcing the new wages.

Bokha said that even though the minimum wage has tripled since 1989, the welfare of most workers remains unchanged.

However, he said, a higher minimum wage standard could help narrow the gap between the rich and the poor.

"Greater social disparities could lead to social disturbances and disrupt national stability in the future," he warned.

Bokha said that managements should be more committed to helping workers become more productive.

He criticized a recent threat by the Indonesian Textile Association to sue the manpower minister for increasing the minimum wages, saying that no company has ever gone bankrupt from raising the wages of their workers.

"Many companies in the garment, textile and footwear sectors are on the brink of bankruptcy not because of high wages but because of bad management and an inability to compete," he said. (rms)