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