Workers' wages

Workers' wages

Bomer Pasaribu of the All-Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI) says the condition of workers is still saddening, although there has been a slight increase of wages for manufacturing workers since 1991.

The problem of wages in Indonesia is intertwined with the government's monetary policy and regulations on foreign investment. The issues have developed into a complex matter so that it is impossible to find a solution within a short time. Solution to the wage problem requires a long period of time, even generations.

As soon as Indonesia got its independence, the low pay system could not be drastically changed. The increase of wages in that period was not a pay raise in the real sense of the word, but it was triggered by inflation. In short, a more humane solution to the wage problem should be found.

-- Merdeka, Jakarta