More than 50 percent, of 3,000 companies in Tangerang regency have failed to to pay their workers minimum wages (UMK), a labor activist claimed Tuesday
More than 50 percent, of 3,000 companies in Tangerang regency have failed to to pay their workers minimum wages (UMK), a labor activist claimed Tuesday.
Achmad Supriyadi, the chairman of the Tangerang branch of the Indonesian Labor Union (SPSI) said the situation had occurred because workers in Tangerang had little bargaining power and the Tangerang manpower agency had failed to enforce the minimum wage requirements.
“The wages [lower than the UMK] are contrary to the 2003 law on manpower,” he said on the sidelines of a tripartite mediation of a dispute between PT Inreksa Prima and its workers at the Tigaraksa regency council building on Tuesday.
The Tangerang branch of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), however, did not confirm Achmad’s claim.
Chairman of the branch, Juanda, said that not all companies in the regency were grouped in the association. “We only oversee the industrial firms [that are Apindo members],” he said. “To those companies [outside of Apindo], we cannot monitor whether they abide by the UMK or not.”
Meanwhile, head of the industrial dispute settlement division at the regency’s manpower agency, Manangar Baribang, claimed that his agency had yet to receive any complaints from workers about the UMK.
“So far, we have only received requests from several companies to delay their payment of the UMK this year due to financial woes,” Manangar said.
Tuesday’s talk ended in a deadlock as both workers and the company management failed to reach an agreement on the case.
Inreksa Prima’s commissioner, Paulus Harley, said the shoe manufacturer was suffering following the termination of a contract with an international brand. Last week, thousands of workers staged a rally at the company’s plant to demand severance payment for around 1,000 workers made redundant in 2007.
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