Hikes in minimum wage between 5% and 55%
Hikes in minimum wage between 5% and 55%
JAKARTA (JP): The increases in regional minimum wages taking
effect on April 1 will be determined independently by respective
provinces, with Aceh so far proposing the highest increase of
54.97 percent and West Java the lowest at 5.13 percent.
"In accordance with the implementation of regional autonomy,
regional minimum wages will be set by governors in cooperation
with regional workers unions and regional chapters of the
Indonesian Employers Association," Minister of Manpower Bomer
Pasaribu said on Thursday during a hearing with the House of
Representatives' Commission V for labor and social welfare.
He declined to elaborate on the details saying that several
provinces had yet to submit their proposals, but promised an
official announcement by the end of the month.
The two proposals already submitted mean that the monthly
minimum wage in West Java will be raised from Rp 200,000 to Rp
210,260, while in Aceh there will be an increase from Rp 171,000
to Rp 265,000.
Bomer conceded that despite the increases the purchasing power
of workers was still not enough to purchase their minimum daily
needs.
Without revealing the increase in South Sulwesi, he pointed
out that even with an increase in the minimum wage, workers in
that province would still only be able to provide for two-thirds
of their basic needs.
He expressed hope that with continued economic progress
workers wages would be high enough to satisfy their basic needs
by 2001.
Bomer said despite the decentralized authority, the central
government would establish common rules for regions in setting
minimum wage levels in the future.
"With these rules, the central government will encourage
regions to set minimum wage levels above the minimum human need
level because regional autonomy is aimed at improving people's
social welfare, including workers," he said.
He asserted that the central government could not raise
minimum wages arbitrarily as it had to adhere to official
procedures which also involved representatives of workers and
employers.
"The government concedes that the current minimum wage level
is so low that workers' purchasing power continues to weaken as a
result of the prolonged monetary crisis and the high-cost
economy, conditions which have simultaneously affected employers.
Any increase must be adjusted to economic conditions," he said.
Strike
Meanwhile, Yacob Nuwu Wea, chairman of the Federation of All
Indonesian Workers Unions (FSPSI), warned that labor unions would
go ahead with their threat to call for a national strike if
minimum wages were not increased by at least 50 percent.
"We will go ahead with our call for a national strike if our
demand is not met," he said after the hearing.
Yacob, who himself is a legislator representing the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle, said Bomer, FSPSI's former
chairman, should be fighting harder for workers' aspirations.
He argued that the government should revise the data
components it used in formulating minimum wages as they were
obsolete.
"The government should phase out the 43 wage components that
are now out of date and replace them with 102 standard
components. Workers in industrial plants no longer need the
candles, the kerosene and the low price rice that are included in
the current wage components," he said.
Yacob further asserted the need for workers to be given due
recognition for their toil by allowing them to eventually have
the purchasing power to own a house, clothing and send their
children to school.(rms)