Workers not paid minimum wage

PALANGKARAYA, Central Kalimantan: Some of the workers recruited for the clearing of one million hectares of farmland located in the forests of the Kapuas regency are being paid less than the official daily minimum wage, Antara reported.

The situation was discovered over the weekend by visiting members of the House of Representatives.

"We were informed by some people involved in the government's project that the workers are paid only Rp 1,700 (US$0.72) per day," team leader Mukron As'ad said at a meeting with local officials and the project's manager in Kuala Kapuas last week.

The newly-set minimum wage in the province is Rp 4,750 (US$2).

The project is under the supervision of PT Sambu Group, PT Pembangunan Perumahan and PT Wijaya Karya.

Mukron called on the companies to improve the workers' wages and include them in the social security program Jamsostek. (rms)