MK Judge Highlights Petition for Lecturers' Salaries to Align with Minimum Wage Standards

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Constitutional Court Judge Arsul Sani highlighted the lack of clarity in regulations on salaries for non-civil servant lecturers under the Law on Teachers and Lecturers, as requested by the petitioners to align with minimum wage standards as a reference.

Arsul emphasised the need for clear definitions of “equivalent to the minimum wage” in the petitum of the judicial review petition for Law Number 14 of 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers in case Number 272/PUU-XXII/2025, heard at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta on Tuesday (5/5/2026).

“When it is said to be equivalent to the minimum wage, is that just the base salary or including allowances? This terminology must be clear,” said Judge Arsul Sani during the hearing.

In addition, the judge also highlighted the complexity of determining minimum wages for higher education institutions with campuses in more than one region, whether across districts/cities or provinces.

On the other hand, a more fundamental issue deemed unclear is the party responsible for the salaries of non-civil servant lecturers at state universities.

“What is unclear here is, for non-civil servant lecturers at state universities, whose responsibility is the base salary?” Arsul asked.

The judge revealed that in the government’s statement, civil servant lecturers are the state’s responsibility, while lecturers at private universities are the responsibility of the community or the organising body.

This situation is considered concerning, especially amid the continuous annual rise in education costs.

“At first glance, this is also sad; student tuition fees keep rising every year, yet some lecturers’ salaries are still below the UMR,” he said.

Furthermore, the judge also touched on the existence of lecturers with part-time work schemes, which could potentially affect wage structures.

In wage regulations, there is a mechanism for payment based on working hours, not solely monthly.

The Court has asked all parties, including representatives from lecturers and universities, to provide more comprehensive explanations, including the possibility of including such explanations in the hearing conclusions.

This lawsuit was filed by the Campus Workers Union led by Rizma Afian Azhiim, lecturer Isman Rahmani Yusron, and lecturer Riski Alita Istiqoman.