Firms told to obey new minimum wage law

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja urged companies in Jakarta yesterday to obey the government's new minimum wage regulation.

"I don't want to comment further about this matter, but basically all companies in the city must obey the regulation," Surjadi said.

The governor made the remark after the Jakarta office of the Manpower Ministry announced on Wednesday that 33 companies had requested a permit to delay the implementation of the new regulation.

The chairman of the city council's Commission E for welfare, Atje Mulyadi, said that the requests may trigger protests from the companies' workers because they will be paid the old minimum wage.

"If the 33 companies' requests are OK'd, their workers will be upset because their wages will be smaller than their friends who work at other companies," Atje said.

The city administration and the Jakarta office of the manpower ministry should study the proposal before making a decision, he said.

The head of the manpower office, Freddy Tuamelly, said yesterday that the 33 companies had all submitted the required documents.

The documents include registration forms, financial, marketing and production development reports, wage reports, and recent records on workers who receive wages lower than the newly set minimum wage. The results of the latest negotiations with the company's workers must also be included, Freddy said. He stressed that complete documentation did not mean that a request would be approved.

The government increased the minimum daily wage for workers in Jakarta from Rp 4,600 to Rp 5,200 as of April 1.

Most of the 33 companies requesting a delay also objected to the requirement that the monthly salary for permanent workers account for 30 working days.

Previously, 40 companies had submitted objections to the regulation, but the manpower ministry office rejected seven of the companies. (yns)