Campus Workers Union asks Constitutional Court to interpret lecturer base salary as at least equal to minimum wage

The Campus Workers Union (SPK) has asked the Constitutional Court (MK) to interpret the base salary of lecturers in Law Number 14 of 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers as a salary that is at least equivalent to the minimum wage applicable in the region where the higher education institution operates. SPK Research Team Head Rizma Afian Azhiim stated that the request was submitted through a judicial review of the Teachers and Lecturers Law because lecturers do not yet have a standard of income protection as workers in other sectors are guaranteed through the minimum wage. “The 2003 Manpower Law provides clear parameters through the minimum wage so that workers can live decently. However, when the 2005 Teachers and Lecturers Law was enacted, that term shifted to ‘minimum living needs’, but the concrete parameters were never made. That is the root of the problem,” Rizma said in a statement received in Jakarta on Wednesday. According to him, the absence of such a standard means lecturers lack adequate income protection, especially for those just starting their careers who only receive a base salary without additional allowances. “Lecturers who are just starting their careers end up only receiving a base salary. If that base salary is below the minimum wage, then their basic income will not be sufficient to meet the needs of a decent living. This is a form of discrimination against the academic profession,” he said. Rizma also highlighted the practice of payment based on semester credit units (SKS), which is considered not to reflect the entire workload of lecturers. According to him, many universities only count teaching hours in the classroom, whereas lecturers also have duties to supervise students, mark exams, prepare teaching materials, conduct research, and perform community service. SPK filed the judicial review of the Teachers and Lecturers Law to the Constitutional Court through case Number 272/PUU-XXIII/2025. In its petition, SPK asks the Court to declare the phrase “base salary” in Article 52 paragraph (1) of the Teachers and Lecturers Law conditionally unconstitutional insofar as it is not interpreted as a base salary that is at least equivalent to the minimum wage applicable in the region where the higher education unit is located. In the latest witness examination hearing, SPK presented Dinda Dinanti, a lecturer at UPN Veteran Jakarta, who claimed to receive a salary of Rp3.1 million per month and had to seek additional income to meet living expenses. Dinda said the change in UPN Veteran Jakarta’s status from a work unit to a Public Service Agency (BLU) has left many workers facing employment status uncertainty. She stated that she teaches 14 SKS with around 290 students, while also carrying out thesis supervision, academic guidance, research, and community service duties. “The welfare issue of lecturers and teachers is a fundamental issue for the future of national education,” she said.