S

urabaya Mayor Bambang Dwi Hartono said recently he agreed with the local payment body's minimum wage recommendation, sparking a protest from labor unions in the city.

The People's Worker Union (SBK) of the Workers Alliance Congress (Kasbi), which is part of the payment body, rejected the recommendation.

The union demanded the mayor fire Surabaya Manpower Agency head Achmad Syafi'i for failing to "accommodate the aspirations of labor leaders" in the recommendation.

However, Bambang claimed the recommendation was already based on workers' aspirations, adding he would send it to the East Java governor for approval.

Bambang said he was happy the body had eventually reached an agreement on the recommended minimum wage.

After a heated debate last Friday, the body, consisting of 17 municipal administration officials, two academics, 12 labor representatives and 12 businessmen, proposed that the municipality set next year's minimum wage at Rp 1,031,500.

The amount was determined on the basis of real conditions, or prices of basic commodities at three big traditional markets in the city: Soponyono, Wonokromo and Tambak Wedi.

According to the payment body, that cost in Surabaya would be Rp 1,017,618 in October, and with an inflation rate of 1.34 percent, would increase to Rp 1,031,253 by December.

Based on the calculations, the body recommended Rp 1,031,500 as the 2010 minimum wage for Surabaya.

Bambang said he did not need to revise the body's recommendation.

He added the recommendation represented Surabaya laborers' real needs.

"We need to appreciate the payment body's work, as it has managed to accommodate all the parties' aspirations in the body, so that it can offer a certain amount for the minimum wage in the city," he said.

SBK Kasbi, however, said the decision was "unclear and unfair".

Hundreds of the SBK Kasbi members staged a rally in front of the municipality office Friday, protesting the minimum wage recommendation.

The protesters demanded the mayor review and revise the recommendation.

According to SBK Kasbi, the payment body had broken a 2005 manpower regulation on the determination of minimum living costs.

SBK Kasbi Surabaya coordinator Andy Kristiantono said the body's recommendation for the costs and minimum wage in Surabaya did not represent the real conditions faced by workers.

He added the body had failed to accommodate laborers' aspirations.

He said that based on SBK Kasbi's survey at the three traditional markets, the minimum living cost was Rp 1,093,532, and with the inflation set to hit 3.5 percent, the minimum wage should have been Rp 1,131,804.

"We suspect there was some political maneuvering in deciding the 2010 minimum wage, because the amount was determined without any transparency," Andy said.