The Blessing of Lecturer Welfare in Palu MK

Since her school days, Rizki Alita Istiqomah has dreamed of becoming a lecturer. For her back then, being a lecturer was a prestigious job because it could help many people reach their respective gates of success. After graduating with her bachelor’s degree, Rizki pursued a master’s at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI) to chase her dream.

“It turns out, after I experienced it, wow, it’s just all show. But even to meet basic living needs, it’s very insufficient,” said the 34-year-old woman to detikX last week.

That dream was realised in 2017. Rizki was accepted to teach as a lecturer at the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP) at Universitas Halim Sanusi, Bandung. Rizki was contracted with a salary of Rp 1.5 million per month. Plus, allowances attached to it, including meal money of Rp 20,000 per day and professional allowance of Rp 500,000 per year.

However, in reality, the Rp 1.5 million as base salary never entered the salary structure that Rizki received every month. She was only paid based on the number of courses or semester credit units (SKS) she taught, worth Rp 35,000.

Rizki was also never registered with the Social Security Agency for Employment (BPJS) Ketenagakerjaan and Health. The campus also never paid Rizki’s functional position allowance as an assistant expert.

“Even though getting that functional position wasn’t easy for me,” Rizki revealed.

As a result, Rizki only received wages of Rp 900,000 to Rp 1.1 million per month. Not infrequently, said Rizki, in several semesters, she only received Rp 150-300,000 per month if the SKS she got weren’t many. Far below the 2025 minimum wage in Bandung City, around Rp 4.2 million.

That amount is clearly not enough to finance Rizki’s daily life as a child who now also has to support her elderly parents. To meet daily living needs, Rizki was forced to look for side jobs selling and giving private lessons.

“I once sold young coconut ice at GBLA (Gelora Bandung Lautan Api), right. I also sold boxed rice,” Rizki recounted.

The fate experienced by Rizki is also felt by many other lecturers in Indonesia. Research published by the Lecturer Welfare Research Team from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Universitas Mataram, and Universitas Indonesia in 2023 shows that the majority of lecturers in Indonesia earn below Rp 3 million per month. In private universities, the amount can be much lower, namely below Rp 2 million per month.

This minimal income adds pressure to life for around 13 percent of lecturers in Indonesia because they have average living costs higher than their monthly salary. Based on the survey results, around 38.8 percent of 1,200 lecturers—who were respondents—have expenditures of Rp 2-5 million per month.

Therefore, it’s no wonder that around 76 percent of lecturers in Indonesia are forced to seek additional income outside their academic duties. This way, like it or not, is done to meet their basic living needs.

General Chairman of the Campus Workers Union Rizma Afian Azhiim stated that the results of this Lecturer Welfare Research Team survey show an anomaly in lecturers’ incomes in Indonesia. Lecturers are given great responsibilities and obligations, including carrying out the Tridharma as teachers, researchers, and community servants. However, in reality, the burden borne by lecturers is in no way comparable to their income.

Azhiim compared lecturers’ salaries to factory workers’ salaries. According to Azhiim, if factory workers are entitled to salaries equivalent to the regional minimum wage (UMR), why do lecturers who require higher qualifications get lower salaries?

“We’re not unappreciative of (workers’) jobs, but for us, all jobs deserve humane and decent wages, whatever the type of job, but it shouldn’t be an anomaly like this,” said Azhiim over the phone to detikX.

The low salary of lecturers is a systemic issue due to ambiguity in Articles 51 and 52 of Law Number 14 of 2005 on Lecturers and Teachers. Article 51 Paragraph 1 states that lecturers are entitled to income above the minimum living needs and social welfare guarantees. Meanwhile, Article 52 Paragraph 1 states that minimum living needs include base salary, functional allowances, special allowances, honorary allowances, as well as other additions determined on the principle of appreciation based on performance.

According to Azhiim, the phrase ‘minimum living needs’ has no clear basis and benchmark because in Article 52 Paragraph 1 it is also not specified what the minimum base salary a lecturer must receive. That phrase makes lecturers’ salaries, especially non-civil servant (ASN) lecturers, unclear. Because, in Article 52 Paragraph 3 it is stated that non-ASN lecturers’ salaries are regulated based on cooperation agreements between the employer and the lecturer.

“So, we don’t have an umbrella to shelter under. What’s the lower limit? What’s the number? There’s no number for minimum living needs,” said this lecturer from Universitas Bhayangkara Jakarta Raya.

On that basis, SPK together with two other lecturers, including Rizki and Isman Rahmani Yusron, filed a judicial review application for the Lecturer and Teacher Law to the Constitutional Court on 24 December 2025. This application is recorded with number 272/PUU-XXIII/2025. One of the main objectives in this application is to affirm the lower limit of lecturers’ salaries in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Three professors also joined as related parties. They are Professor of Constitutional Law at Universitas Padjadjaran (Unpad) Susi Dwi Harijanti, Professor of Constitutional Law at Universitas Islam Syafi’i (UIS) Denny Indrayana, and Professor of Constitutional Law at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) Zainal Arifin Mochtar. Lecturer in Ownership at Universitas Indonesia (UI) Titi A