Workers struggle to survive

Workers struggle to survive

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Life could not be harder for minimum wage earners in the
capital. They are forced to struggle to make both ends meet with
the current minimum monthly wage of Rp 426,250 (about US$40).

One might wonder how they could survive earning such a low
amount of money while the prices of goods keep on increasing.

Jefri, 43, an office boy working for a state enterprise on Jl.
Jend. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, said that in addition to his Rp
400,000 monthly salary, he also received meal allowances
amounting to about Rp 100,000.

"Fortunately, my wife runs a small shop at our house in
Pamulang," said Jefri, who has two children.

Unlike Jefri, however, Sutrisno is the only breadwinner in his
family. As a security guard for a foreign company on Jl. Jend.
Sudirman, he receives a Rp 475,000 basic salary plus Rp 150,000
meal allowance each month.

"Actually, my salary is not enough to feed my family,
especially at the moment with the prices of everything
increasing. However, we have to be able to manage the money,"
said the 30-year-old father of one.

Sutrisno and his family live in a rented one-room home in the
Bendungan Hilir area, Central Jakarta, for which they pay rent of
Rp 125,000 a month.

He catches a bus to his workplace every day. The bus fare is
Rp 900 and in a month he spends about Rp 50,000 on
transportation.
He hands over the rest of his income to his wife for the purchase
of the family's basic necessities including, of course, food.

The family rarely has meat or fish as part of their daily diet
because they can not afford it, said Sutrisno, whose wife does
not work.

"We have to spend the money very carefully, otherwise it won't
be enough for one month," he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

He hopes that none of his family fall ill because he has never
allocated money for health care.

"If one of us gets sick, we will buy medicine sold at street
stalls. But if the illness gets worse, we will go to a puskesmas
(community health center)," Sutrisno said, adding that he borrows
money from his neighbors or relatives to pay the medical
expenses.

Currently, the monthly minimum wage here is set at Rp 426,250.
The amount is based on several factors, including the inflation
rate, the cost of basic staples and consumer goods, as well as
minimum living needs, or Kebutuhan Hidup Minimum (KHM).

KHM, a main element used to calculate the minimum wage, has
components including food, clothing, housing and transportation.

Earlier this month, Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso issued a decree
on the new minimum wage for 2002, which was set at Rp 591,600.
The decree does not regulate transportation fees and meal
allowances.

Many must be happy with the 38 percent wage increase, though
some have responded to the move with a degree of skepticism,
predicting that the cost of all goods and transportations will in
turn also increase.

Wanda, a cashier at a Matahari department store in Blok M,
South Jakarta, said: "It will be like the previous year when we
had a pay hike, but it was not worth it at all because the prices
of all items increased too."

Even with a such huge increase, the wage will barely be enough
to make both ends meet.