'The 7% wage hike means nothing to me'
The city administration, employers and labor unions agreed last Monday to raise the provincial minimum wage by 7 percent, from Rp 590,000 to Rp 631,000, starting next January. Workers gave The Jakarta Post various responses to the issue.
Bambang, 31, is a quality control staff member at an Australian-owned company in Tangerang. He has been working there for four years:
The new wage hike is still far from what most workers expected. It's still not enough for people to make ends meet.
The hike won't cover the inflation rate because I'm sure that in a couple of months all the prices will be put up along with the wage increase.
Basic needs will no longer be affordable. Worse still, the price of fuel, electricity, telephone and water is also increasing. So does this 7 percent wage hike mean a better chance at survival? I think not.
As a worker, I feel that the minimum wage in Jakarta or Tangerang should be more or less about Rp 800,000.
I have earned only Rp 700,000 a month after working here almost four years. I have to support my daughter and wife. Fortunately, my wife's income is a bit higher than mine. She brings home Rp 800,000 a month after working nine years at a shoe company.
Our monthly expenses of rent, telephone, electricity and water amount to Rp 1.5 million. There is nothing left over to save.
Workers only expect their wages to cover the inflation rate. The government should think of them as a precious asset that needs to be maintained in order to generate the economy. How can workers be productive if they are barely getting by?
Sodikin, 38, is a supervisor at a textile factory in Tangerang, where he has been working for 18 years. He has two children and a wife:
The 7 percent wage hike will amount to nothing for me. What is it for? The hike will not cover our basic needs after the price hike.
To be honest, the 7 percent will only cover one of my nine basic needs. What about the other things that are still unaffordable? Would the government be kind enough to help us survive? I don't think so!
The government should have taken a look at the grassroots level. It is going to be tough for low-income earners to cope with the accompanying hike in fuel prices, transportation, electricity, water and telephone, children's schooling and other basic needs.
After working 18 years, I only earn about Rp 850,000 a month, which includes the regional minimum wage plus allowances.
How can I survive if I have to spend that much every month on my family. We spend Rp 15,000 a day on meals and my children get Rp 10,000 a day as pocket money.
I manage to survive by earning extra income from doing orders for paintings. Fortunately, my wife helps me support the family by running a small shop in our housing complex.
I wish the minimum wage was at least Rp 1 million. I'm sure once workers get a proper wage, their job performance and productivity will improve, too.
I'm not sure if I will get a wage increase because there was a fire at the factory earlier this month.
Lami, 23, has worked at a garment factory in Tangerang for two years. She lives in Bermis, Kutajaya, Tangerang with her friends:
The wage hike will not be enough for me even though I know it all depends on how you handle your finances.
At the moment, I get Rp 700,000 a month, which is the regional minimum wage and a transportation allowance.
My rent is Rp 250,000 and food for the month comes to Rp 300,000. I also need to buy new clothes and make-up. Saving is just a dream for me as I usually have nothing left over after my expenses.
Sometimes I get a little extra from doing overtime, even though I start work at 7:30 a.m. and finish at 9:00 p.m. It's exhausting but that's the only way to survive here.
I'm just afraid that the new wage will be followed by a new quota at the factory. Normally, our sewing department should put out 100 pairs of trousers in an hour. What if they increase the load to 200 pairs after the wage hike? That would drive me crazy.
I just hope that won't happen to me. -- Leo Wahyudi S