Minimum pay must be maintained

Minimum pay must be maintained

From Merdeka

Reports in the media say that the Indonesian Textile
Association (API) has appealed to the government to review its
policy on minimum regional wages on the grounds that it will
cause an increase in total textile company costs. Some 123
garment enterprises located in Jakarta, West Java and Central
Java have expressed their concern with the new pay policy. API
Secretary General Benny Soetrisno was quoted by the press as
saying "many garment companies will have to close down."

However, the Societal Study and Advocacy Institute (Elsam)
views API's appeal as completely unfounded, and asks the
government to reject the proposal and consistently implement the
pay increase which will take effect on April 1, 1995.

Some of our reasons are as follows:

* The minimum pay regulation is aimed at improving the welfare
and living standards of the workers, and to satisfy their minimum
basic needs.

* The minimum pay regulation is still far from adequate to
meet basic needs. The government still has to raise the minimum
pay level by 15 percent to reach the "ideal" level of basic
living needs.

* As a matter of fact, in determining the minimum pay scale,
the government has considered the companies and their interests
as well as conditions. The Minister of Manpower said that the
minimum pay increase will only cause production costs to go up by
one percent. It is the best compromise that can be reached with
the business. It is not in any way ideal for the workers.

* Should the government need to re-audit the companies'
financial state of affairs, we want a workers' representative to
be involved in the auditing process. So far, the companies are
not open to this idea when it comes to auditing activities.

ABDUL HAKIM GARUDA NUSANTARA

Executive Director

Elsam, Jakarta