Govt's decision on minimum wages set for next week

Govt's decision on minimum wages set for next week

JAKARTA (JP): The government will announce its decision on the
much-awaited minimum wage rise after a meeting with the National
Wage Council here next Tuesday, a senior official from the
Ministry of Manpower said yesterday.

Director General of Labor Supervision Syaufi'i Syamsuddin said
new Minister of Manpower Theo L. Sambuaga would chair the meeting
with the council, which comprises workers, business
representatives and the government.

"I can't say now whether there'll be a raise or not," Syaufi'i
was quoted by Antara as saying about the minimum wage or Upah
Minimum Regional (UMR). In the past, the government determined
the rise in January and enacted the ruling in April.

This year's delayed announcement has been widely discussed, as
the call of some labor activists for a raise was countered by
businesspeople citing the monetary crisis.

Early this year, four labor-intensive industry associations
-- Association of All Indonesian Shoe Industries (Aprisindo),
Indonesian Textile Association (API), Association of Indonesian
Manufacturing Companies (AMI), and Association of Indonesian Toy
Industries (APMI) -- complained that its member companies would
find it difficult to raise wages due to the dire economic
situation.

The All-Indonesia Workers Union Federation had proposed that
workers' minimum wages be raised at least 13 percent. The
foundation cited the soaring prices of basic commodities -- a
condition which in many regions has led to rioting.

The minimum wage differs from one area of the country to
another. The minimum monthly wage in Greater Jakarta is Rp
172,000 (US$17.20).

The highest minimum wage of Rp 220,500 is for those working in
the industrial zone of Batam, Riau. Yogyakarta still has the
lowest minimum wage of Rp 106,500.

Syaufi'i said he could only present his views to the council
about the possible impacts if the wages were raised or not.

He conceded, however, that not all companies were suffering
from the present economic predicament and could therefore raise
their workers' wages.

Some plantation companies in several areas in Sumatra such as
Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Riau had even reached an
agreement with their workers' union that wages would be raised by
16.8 percent this year, he said without elaborating.

Syaufi'i said the government had always encouraged all
companies and every branch of the workers union in companies to
make their own agreements over wages so they did not depend on
the government fixing minimum wages.

"It (cooperation) would be more beneficial for the workers'
welfare."

He said it was difficult for the government to determine and
set a wage rise at a certain level for all companies this year
due to their varying financial conditions.

Antara quoted yesterday manpower ministry data that said
between when the crisis began last July and last month, 65,442
workers from 278 companies have been laid off.

About 6,000 more from 56 companies are facing being laid off,
and 40,000 from 91 companies have been forced to work in shifts,
it said.

This year's crisis has also caused more than 3.9 million
workers to lose their jobs, mainly in the construction sector
which has been the most hard hit during the economic slowdown.

However, some observers have given a much grimmer estimation,
saying the total number of people laid off or dismissed has
reached 13 million.

The ministry has said that if the economy grows by 1.3 percent
this year, only 1.3 million new jobs would be created for the
expected 2.7 million people entering the job market.

The government has put economic growth this year at zero
percent. (aan)