Minimum wages to be hiked in nine provinces

JAKARTA (JP): Nine more provinces will raise the minimum daily wage beginning in August as the government warned yesterday that starting next year, hikes will be made simultaneously nationwide.

Aceh, North Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra, Lampung, West Kalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Irian Jaya will raise their daily minimum wages by between 19 and 35 percent beginning on Monday.

In Aceh the minimum wage is being raised 21 percent to Rp 3,100, in North Sumatra by 21 percent to Rp 3,750, in Jambi by 25 percent to Rp 3,000, in South Sumatra by 30 percent to Rp 3,000 and in Lampung by 22 percent to Rp 3,000.

In West Kalimantan, the minimum wage will rise by 33 percent to Rp 3,000, in East Nusa Tenggara by 19 percent to Rp 2,500, in Maluku by 35 percent to Rp 3,100 and Irian Jaya by 29 percent to Rp 4,500.

The other 18 provinces in Indonesia have already raised the minimum wage levels this year.

The minimum wage level is highest in Batam, a flourishing industrial designated zone south of Singapore, where the minimum daily wage is set at Rp 6,750. With the latest increase, the minimum wage in Irian Jaya is the second highest at Rp 4,500, even beating Jakarta where it is set at Rp 3,800.

Official papers showed that the government had originally intended to raise the minimum wage level in North Sumatra to only Rp 3,100 a day. It was not clear whether the upward revision had anything to do with April's massive labor unrest in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra.

Director General for Labor Standards and Industrial Relations Suwarto said the minimum wage increases in the nine provinces had already been announced as far back as April and May, ample time for companies affected by the ruling to make the necessary preparations.

The minimum wage levels are set jointly by the local representatives of employers, workers and the government in each province. The Ministry of Manpower simply approves them.

Protests

When the minimum wages in Jakarta and West Java were raised on Jan. 1, there were storms of protests from employers who said they were not given enough time by the government to make the necessary adjustments. The government ignored the complaints.

Many workers in the two regions went on strike, some of which turned violent, as they pressed their employers to abide by the ruling. The government later clamped down on violating companies and threatened to prosecute them.

Suwarto yesterday said that beginning next year, the increase in the minimum wages will be made simultaneously nationwide, the first increase being expected for April 1.

He said the minimum wages in all the provinces will at least equal what experts consider the "minimum physical requirements."

In many regions, including Jakarta and West Java, the minimum wages are already close to the minimum physical requirements, which are calculated on the basis of local consumer index prices.

But in a number of regions, the minimum wages are still some 60 percent of the minimum physical requirements.

Suwarto said the government is currently reviewing the minimum wage regulations, hoping to tighten sanctions against violators to ensure greater compliance.

Under the present regulation enacted in 1969, a company owner who does not pay his workers the minimum wage level faces a maximum of a three-month jail term, and/or Rp 100,000 in fines.

Suwarto said the government will not hesitate to prosecute company owners who ignored the minimum wage regulations.

The regulations allow for exceptions if the companies's finances prevent them from paying the minimum wage levels.

Suwarto said companies seeking to be exempted must prove in court that they truly cannot pay the minimum wages. (rms)