Surabaya workers struggle to deal with fuel price hike

Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

It has been a month since Untung Sunyoto, a Surabayan worker in a homemade stove factory in the Sidoarjo area, has met with his family. He used to return home on the weekend, but since the fuel price hike on Oct. 1, he can now only afford to go back once a month.

Similarly, Romli, another factory worker, has had to economize after the fuel price increases led to increases in transportation fares. Romli is now considering finding a room to rent close to his work place to save on transportation costs between the factory and his home. Moreover, his company has yet to raise transportation allowances.

Worst, Romli, the father of a boy, is not only struggling to cope with rising transportation costs, but he must also deal with rising prices of food and other basic necessities.

For Romli, his meager salary of some Rp 600,000 a month (US$60) is barely enough to meet his family's expenses.

A similar plight is currently being suffered by many other workers in Surabaya, an industrial center and second largest city in the country.

The head of the democracy assessment section with the Surabaya Legal Aid Foundation, Attoillah, said following the fuel price hike the number of workers filing welfare complaints at the foundation had risen 50 percent. Before the fuel price hike, the foundation normally received 25 welfare complaints a month from workers, mainly about low salaries or unfair dismissals. The complaints are filed with the local council for follow up, said Attoilah.

"We can do nothing as the companies rarely violate the government decree on the regional minimum wage. All we can do is relay the complaints to the local council, while at the same time counsel the workers to face a tough life," said Attoillah.

Separately, a senior Surabaya councillor Achmad Jabir said the council would propose that the government increase the regional minimum wage. The increase was necessary in order to help workers cope with the impact of the fuel price hike, said Jabir. "The government should revise the regional minimum wage as it is too low," he said.

In a separate development, the Surabaya Wage Commission has submitted its recent survey on worker's wages to the Surabaya city administration, in which it recommends that the government raise the city's minimum wage from Rp 575,000 to Rp 715,000 per month. However, several unions oppose the proposal, saying the minimum wage should be increased to at least Rp 1 million a month.