All quiet on the labor front, official says
All quiet on the labor front, official says
JAKARTA (JP): The increase in the minimum wage levels in nine
provinces on Aug. 1 went into effect without any real trouble, a
senior official of the Ministry of Manpower said yesterday.
"We've been monitoring the situation over the last two weeks
and found no companies in the nine provinces to be violating
minimum wage regulations," Director General for Industrial
Relations and Labor Standards Soewarto said during a regular
discussion with journalists at his office yesterday.
"If there were companies breaking the minimum wage
regulations, workers would have gone on strike or lodged protests
with the Ministry of Manpower," Soewarto said.
"Besides, there is no reason why companies would want to
postpone the adjustment of workers wages given they were notified
of the hikes four months in advance."
He said he summoned heads of the provincial manpower offices
in the nine provinces two weeks ago to ensure the enforcement of
the increase.
The nine provinces -- Aceh, North Sumatra, Jambi, South
Sumatra, Lampung, West Kalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and
Irian Jaya-- raised the daily minimum wages between 19 and 35
percent, beginning Aug. 1.
In Aceh and Maluku, the minimum wage was raised to Rp 3,100
while in North Sumatra, the site of massive workers protests in
April, it was raised to Rp 3,750.
In Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan and Lampung the new
minimum wage level is now set at Rp 3,000. In East Nusa Tenggara
the new minimum wage is Rp 2,500, and in Irian Jaya Rp 4,500.
The other 18 provinces raised their minimum wage levels in
January and April.
Protests
The hikes in the minimum wages in Jakarta and West Java,
enforced in January, were greeted with protests from both
employers and workers. Employers there delayed putting the new
wages into effect, complaining that they were not given enough
notice. This then prompted workers to stage strikes to demand on
compliance.
The months of January and February saw the largest number of
workers' strikes in Indonesia this year. It declined only after
the government threatened to severely punish employers for non-
compliance.
Soewarto said that, beginning next April, the increase in
regional minimum wages would be made simultaneously nationwide.
The minimum wage levels beginning next year will also be at
least equal to what is perceived to be the workers' minimum
living requirements, estimated based on the cost of living in
each province.
Soewarto said that there will be no excuses for companies not
complying with the hikes in the minimum wages next year.
"Companies can already anticipate and avoid conflicts with
their workers," he said.
Soewarto also denied that the labor legislation in Indonesia
is not adequate in protecting the interests of workers.
"Even foreign investors are complaining that Indonesian
workers are over-protected. They want the government to let the
industrial relations develop in accordance to the free market
mechanism," he said. (rms)