The Batam municipal administration is currently reviewing the City Minimum Wage (UMK) proposal for Rp 1,402,000 (US$164)
he Batam municipal administration is currently reviewing the City Minimum Wage (UMK) proposal for Rp 1,402,000 (US$164).
They said the review was part of the city’s policy to accommodate the workers’ demand for a raise in their wages.
Local authorities had in fact fulfilled the workers’ demand by raising the minimum wage from Rp 1.18 million to Rp 1.31 million. But the cap was rejected and the workers began to hold rallies for a “reasonable raise”.
The proposal of review reportedly obtained green light from Riau Islands Governor Muhammad Sani.
Batam Mayor Ahmad Dahlan said on Dec. 10 that based on a tripartite meeting between the workers’ union, the government, but without the presence of employers, the Batam municipality decided to propose the wage at Rp 1,402,000.
The decision was to appease the situation and the workers were expected to stop the protests.
“We have proposed the governor set the Batam UMK at Rp 1,402,000. The governor is still considering the matter,” Dahlan said on the sidelines of the Batam Media Trip event, organized by the Batam municipality, Garuda Indonesia and a number of tour agents in Batam.
Batam chapter Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) head O.K. Simatupang expressed disappointment with the proposal, saying that the labor union should have submitted its rejection of the 2012 UMK to the State Administrative Court, and if it accepted the lawsuit, only then could the Batam municipality and Riau Islands provincial administration revise the Batam UMK.
“We are disappointed with the procedure, but this was based on pressure. We opted to abstain from attending the meeting,” Simatupang said on Monday.
Separately, the Indonesian Metal Workers Federation (FSPMI) warmly welcomed the planned Batm UMK adjustment.
The 2012 Batam UMK is based on the social situation and those set in other cities. The union has accepted the 2012 UMK on condition that the 2013 UMK be set based on a business grouping.
Batam chapter FSPMI leader Yon Mulyo Widodo said his union accepted the set 2012 UMK. He deemed the step as quite positive because the government had so far tended to heed the aspirations of businesspeople compared to workers.
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