Minimum wage hikes to go ahead

Minimum wage hikes to go ahead

JAKARTA: The government will put into effect this month the
planned minimum wage hikes throughout the country. At the
provincial level wages will be increased by an average of 28.44
percent, with minimum wages in regencies rising by an average of
28.37 percent, an official said on Wednesday.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said
that most employers throughout the country will likely accept the
wage increases and only a handful of them will demand a delay.

The ministry's data shows that the highest provincial increase
will be enjoyed by workers in Central Sulawesi province as their
monthly wages will increase by 42.8 percent from Rp 245,000
(US$23) in 2001 to Rp 350,000 this year.

Workers in Jakarta will enjoy the highest overall minimum wage
after an increase of 38.6 percent from Rp 426,250 per month last
year to Rp 591,266 this year, Antara reported.

The wages in Bogor regency will be the biggest hike of any
regency at 55 percent from Rp 372,000 to Rp 576,500 per month.

Tangerang workers will be happy to see that their regency has
the highest overall regency minimum wage of Rp 590,000.

The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) threatened to
sue Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso at the Jakarta State Administrative
Court last November for issuing the decree increasing the
provincial minimum wage from Rp 426,250 to Rp 591,266, starting
this month.

Not only did they reject the decree, they also claimed that
they had never approved the increase during the meeting between
labor unions, employers and officials from the Ministry of
Manpower.

"In the meeting, we stuck to our proposal of Rp 490,000 per
month, and didn't sign anything. The new minimum wage was decided
entirely by the government and the labor unions," Anita Gizelle,
from the Jakarta Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said.

Nuwa Wea, however, said that the differences were already
settled and Apindo's Jakarta branch has held back its plan to
file a lawsuit against the Jakarta administration and agreed to
abide by the existing regulation.

He was convinced that all provinces and regencies will apply
the wage hikes as of this month, even though data at his ministry
shows only 16 provinces and 16 regencies have thus far given
reports on the progress. -- Antara