Employers reject minimum wage hike

Employers reject minimum wage hike

BATAM: Batam employers rejected a workers' proposal on Friday for
an increase in the regional minimum wage, leading to widespread
grievances among Batam workers, who now have to bear the brunt of
increased costs following the fuel price hike on Oct. 1.

The rejection was expressed by a representative of Batam
employers during a tripartite meeting held at the office of Batam
mayor, attended by Batam trade unions, representatives of
employer associations and government officials.

The meeting went smoothly in the morning but in the afternoon,
chairman of the Batam Employers Association Abidin walked out,
expressing his disapproval of the workers' proposal for a steep
increase in the minimum wage.

The worker unions proposed a 55 percent hike to Rp 988,260
from a previous Rp 635.000, but the employers said the increase
was too high. The employers had earlier told the workers that
they would only be able to provide a 10 percent increase. -- JP