New minimum wage effective on Feb. 1
New minimum wage effective on Feb. 1
JAKARTA (JP): The new monthly minimum wage in the capital will
take effect on Feb. 1 after a one-month delay, a top official
said on Friday.
Deputy Governor for Social Affairs Djailani said the
postponement was needed to give the city administration enough
time to promote the new minimum salary to both employers and
workers.
The city authorities set the new minimum wage of Rp 426,250
(about US$44.86) through the City Bylaw No. 3726/2000 last
December. The amount was 24 percent higher than that in 2000.
"The increase is based on the minimum daily needs, economic
growth, inflation rate and consumer price index, and particularly
the ability of each company to comply with the ruling," said
Djailani.
As a consequence of regional autonomy, which took effect on
Jan. 1, the monthly minimum wage in a province is determined by
the local tripartite wage committee and approved by the governor.
In the past the central government held the privilege to
decide the minimum wage.
The Jakarta administration had raised the monthly wage from Rp
286,000 to Rp 344,257 in September before the second hike was
decided three months later.
However, the latest increase is still below the Central
Statistics Bureau (BPS) estimate of minimum daily needs of Rp
440,000.
"We must consider the average capacity of most companies in
the capital," Djailani said in response to the BPS calculation.
During the year 2000, thousands of workers across the capital
staged rallies demanding the government set their monthly minimum
wages based on BPS estimate of minimum daily needs.
When the central government approved the monthly minimum wage
of Rp 286,000 for 2000 last April, BPS data revealed the minimum
daily needs were estimated at Rp 344,257.
When asked about possible violations of the regulation,
Djailani said that any company which could not meet the
regulation should request the city administration for a delay.
"The company also needs to negotiate the issue with the labor
union for a thorough solution," Djailani said. (07)