Ministry seeks new steps to quell labor uprisings

The Manpower and Transmigration Ministry wants regional leaders to work closely with labor unions in their respective regions and for regional remuneration committees to settle the growing dispute between workers and business on minimum wages.

“I want all municipalities and regencies to re-register labor unions as soon as possible. This is needed to ensure that workers’ representation will also be present inside the remuneration committees,” Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar told reporters after a coordination meeting with 16 governors in Jakarta on Friday.

Muhaimin said that employers often misunderstood the regional minimum wage (UMR) concept.

“[Employers] often assume that UMR is the maximum limit for wages, while in fact, the UMR is the minimum level of income for employees with less than one year of working experience. They need to understand that for workers who have more than one year of experience, they need to be given above UMR or standard wages,” he said.

To bridge this misunderstanding and to develop an objective measurement on the minimal living cost in regions, Muhaimin said that the central government had urged governors to develop their respective remuneration committees, which had to consist of elements representing the government, employers and worker unions.

“These committees are responsible to conduct surveys on the minimum living cost. The representation of all stakeholders will ensure that the survey will be objective, scientifically based and accountable,” Muhaimin said.

“The conflicts on the standard minimum living cost usually take place because stakeholders use different survey methods, ranging in the type of surveys and the time of surveys. Prices are usually more expensive at night. Therefore, an agreement on the survey type and timing is essential to ensure objective results,” he added.

Workers have recently launched an uprising against their employers.

Employers, represented by the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), recently tried to annul several gubernatorial decrees on increases in the UMR in several regions by submitting lawsuits to the regional administrative high courts.

Employers argued that political motives, instead of economic motives, were the reasons for governors to raise UMR rates. Employers also argued that an increase of the UMR would hinder investment due to increases in labor costs.

Workers in Bekasi regency then launched a massive rally in protest of Apindo’s legal move. Tens of thousands of Bekasi workers blockaded the Jakarta–Cikampek toll road for about eight hours last week.

Bekasi workers managed to force Apindo to bow to their pressure and withdraw its lawsuit.

Inspired by events that helped labor unions in Bekasi, workers from Tangerang, Banten, also threatened to block access to toll roads connecting the capital city to Merak Port and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Feb. 9.

— JP/Hans David Tampubolon