At MK Hearing, UI Non-ASN Lecturers' Salaries Said to Still Be Below Depok's Minimum Wage
JAKARTA - The Chairman of the University of Indonesia Workers’ Association (PPUI), Irwansyah, stated that the salaries of non-ASN (Civil Servant) lecturers at legally structured higher education institutions are not yet decent or still below the Depok city minimum wage (UMK).
He conveyed this during the hearing of case number 272/PUU-XXII/2025 on the material review of Law Number 14 of 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers at the Constitutional Court, Jakarta, on Tuesday (5/5/2026).
“If relying solely on the basic salary of Rp 3,390,500, that amount is below the Depok city minimum wage (UMK) applicable in 2025-2026,” Irwansyah said before the panel of judges.
“Even though they work at government institutions, their status as University of Indonesia (UI) workers means their wage standards are highly dependent on campus autonomy regulated through rector’s regulations,” he added.
He also assessed that the provisions in the law have not yet provided equal protection for all educators in state universities.
“The above provisions indicate that Article 52 paragraph 2 fails to provide equal protection for all educators in government-run higher education institutions,” Irwansyah said.
“The components of lecturers’ income at UI are highly variable and based on performance or incentives, not on a fixed guarantee of a minimum decent standard of living,” he stated.
In addition, he mentioned the disparity between ASN lecturers and permanent non-ASN lecturers.
“There is a clear disparity between ASN lecturers and permanent non-ASN lecturers, permanent university employees,” he said.
“Our bargaining position as lecturers, both individually and collectively, is very weak when facing rectorate regulations,” Irwansyah remarked.
In his view, the state has not yet provided adequate economic protection for educators in higher education institutions.
“The state has neglected to provide an economic safety net for educators in its own government institutions,” he said.
In their petition, the relevant parties requested that the Constitutional Court grant the petitioners’ requests in full, including the interpretation that the minimum basic salary for lecturers should be equivalent to the minimum wage in the region of the higher education unit.