Firms seek delay on minimum wage

JAKARTA (JP): A total of 82 companies nationwide have applied to the government to be exempted from the new minimum wage levels which came into force on April 1, Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief said yesterday.

Latief told a hearing of the Commission VI of the House of Representatives that three applications have been processed by his office and they have been given nine months to comply.

The government on April 1 hiked the minimum wage levels across the nation by five to 35 percent.

The current daily minimum wage for Jakarta is Rp 4,600 ($2.07), Rp 3,700 for East Java and Rp 4,600 in West Java. The highest minimum wage level is Rp 4,750 for Irian Jaya while the lowest is Rp 2,850 in Yogyakarta.

The majority of the 157,819 companies registered with the Ministry of Manpower complied immediately with the hikes but 82 applied for exemption for various reasons, mostly financial difficulties.

Latief said that the Ministry of Manpower is handling applications from 30 companies which employ more than 100 workers. The regional offices of the ministry is handling the other 52.

Of the 82 applications, 53 of them are in East Java, 10 in South Sumatra, four in Bengkulu, two in Jakarta, two in Central Java, six in West Java, two in Bali and two in Ambon. Of the 82 companies, 62 come from the trade sector, 13 from agriculture and plantation and seven from manufacturing.

Latief said 59 companies have ignored the minimum wage regulations. Their cases are now being processed for possible prosecution, he added.

If found guilty by the court, those companies, or the employers, could be liable to fines between Rp 25,000 and Rp 300,000, and or, between six months and one year imprisonment. (03)