Sutiyoso insists on minimum wage

Sutiyoso insists on minimum wage

City administration officials announced on Friday that their
decision to establish a new provincial minimum wage should be put
into place this month, while allowing businessmen the opportunity
to submit objections to the decision.

"The decision on the minimum wage should be applied this
month. But they could submit their objections," Governor Sutiyoso
told reporters at the City Hall, alluding to businessmen affected
by the change.

Sutiyoso invited the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian
Employers' Association (Apindo) to submit its objections up until
Jan. 21, describing its members' financial inability to meet the
mandated wage.

He added that he regretted the fact that the association is
suing the city administration in Jakarta Administrative Court.

"They are very uncooperative -- the association was earlier
involved in deciding the minimum wage; now, they are suing us,"
the governor said.

The court reportedly ordered the administration to postpone
the minimum wage application until it had reached its final
verdict.

The administration appealed the court's order so as to
postpone the application of the minimum wage.

On Thursday, Apindo again announced its rejection of the
increase of the provincial minimum wage, saying that businesses
there could only afford the current amount of Rp 460,500 a month.

The governor issued a decree on Nov. 2 raising the monthly
provincial minimum wage for 2002 up to Rp 591,600 (less than
US$60) from the current Rp 426,500. --JP