Depok wage lower than Jakarta's

Depok wage lower than Jakarta's

JAKARTA: Chairman of the Depok chapter of the Indonesian
Employers Association (Apindo) Inu Kertapati said that the
minimum wage in Depok could not be equal to that of Jakarta
because of the economic differences between the two cities.

"Living expenses in Depok and Jakarta are very different,
Jakarta of course is much more expensive," he was quoted by
Antara as saying on Thursday.

Inu explained that the recent protests by laborers to increase
minimum wages in Depok to equal that of what laborers in Jakarta
had asked was understandable, but that the more reasonable
increase was between 10 to 15 percent.

Laborers in Depok demanded earlier that the minimum wage be
increased to Rp 1.2 million a month from the current Rp 681,200.

The new minimum wage will take place on Jan. 1, 2006. --JP