Govt delays decision on minimum wage

JAKARTA (JP): The government will not announce increases in the minimum wage level until the end of January, Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief said yesterday.

While not giving reasons for the delay, Latief said representatives of the government, workers' unions and employers were still deliberating on the size of increases.

Last year's minimum wage hikes were announced at the beginning of January. The 1996 increases over Indonesia's 27 provinces averaged 10.63 percent.

The daily minimum wage level for workers in Jakarta is currently Rp 5,200 and the monthly level at Rp 156,000.

The Federation of the All Indonesian Workers Union, the only union recognized by the government, last month said it was pushing for a 16 percent increase in minimum wage levels.

Such an increase would bring the minimum wage levels closer to what is officially defined as the minimum physical requirements, or the amount of money deemed sufficient to purchase a daily food intake of 3,000 calories for an unmarried person.

The proposed increase will also cover inflation, which last year reached 6.7 percent.

Employers' representatives have been unclear on what they consider the ideal increase, but the Indonesian Textile Association complained last year's increase, and the changes in wage regulations -- requiring companies to calculate wages on the basis of 30 days a month -- were too demanding.

Latief said once minimum wage increases are agreed to and announced, employers would have more than three months to prepare before the increases become effective on April 1.

He declined to speculate on the size of the increase and whether it would be higher than the average of 10.63 percent granted last year. "Let us all be patient," he said.

The government has received proposals from both unions and employer representatives. These proposals were now being discussed at the National Wage Council, he said.

He said the method of setting wages was "very democratic" and that the Indonesian model was now being adopted by other countries.

Earlier in the day, Minister Latief told reporters at the State Palace that the government would not review the wage regulation requiring companies to calculate workers' wages on a monthly basis.

The regulation essentially means daily laborers are paid for the Sundays they do not work.

"I've heard the expression `no work no pay', but workers are entitled to their Sunday's rest. They have to be paid," he said.

He recalled he had already been sued by some companies at the State Administrative Court on the matter and won the case.

"The government remains consistent in protecting the rights of workers," he said.

The government permits companies not to pay the minimum wages under certain special conditions such as financial difficulties.

In 1996, according to Latief, 365 out of 44,565 companies applied for exemption. Of those who applied, 269 were approved. They include 203 garment and textile companies, 28 shoe producers, 11 toy manufacturers and three leather companies.

Latief disclosed that the number of workers' strikes last year increased by 26 percent to 901, comprising 414 strikes for "normative" rights (demanding employers to meet their legal obligations), and 487 for "non-normative" rights.

Most encouraging about last year's strike figures was that there were fewer strikes over demands for "normative" rights, Latief noted.

This meant greater compliance by employers, he said.

Most of the strikes were demands for even greater improvement than the minimum required by regulations, he said. (01/emb)