Debate on minimum wages

Debate on minimum wages

From Bisnis Indonesia

Earlier this year the government announced an increase in the
regional minimum wage. As usual this started endless heated
debate.

It is necessary for all sides, especially the two interested
parties, i.e. employers and workers, that the objective of
development in Indonesia is a just and prosperous society.
Prosperity is not only for employers and workers, but both sides
must jointly endeavor to achieve it.

It cannot be denied that living expenses increase every year.
This should push workers to boost their performance in order to
catch up with the increase. Workers should not only rely on
government decisions or employers' commiserations.

The increase in the minimum wage should be accompanied by an
increase in work discipline and loyalty with a view to boost
productivity.

Many labor-intensive companies are not up to meeting the
minimum wage requirement every year. Therefore there is a demand
for them to introspect whether they manage their companies
efficiently.

For example, there are labor-intensive companies in the
garment and shoe industries which employ many foreign workers.
This expatriate labor is certainly expensive, both in pay and in
facilities.

It is surprising, because this type of industry is not new to
Indonesia and is not hi-tech. Whatever the reason, it is clear
that these companies cannot free themselves from their dependence
on expatriate labor.

If only these companies could liberate themselves from such
dependence, they could save a lot of money for the benefit of
Indonesian workers. A high spirit of nationalism is necessary on
the part of businessmen to find a way out of this problem.

The government should show wisdom in its decision by paying
attention to and accommodating all the problems of workers,
businessmen and the government itself.

The aspirations, mutual understanding and awareness of
employers and workers are needed in order to decide the best for
all parties.

If this can be realized, the boring debates on the minimum
wage toward April 1 could be prevented from recurring each year.

ALPHONZUS WIDJAJA

Jakarta