Workers tone down protest after Apindo retracts lawsuit

Hundreds of workers from the Tangerang Raya Labor Union (SPTR) plan to stage rallies at a number of factories and distribute fliers on Thursday instead of holding street rallies as previously planned, in response to the decision by the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) to retract its lawsuit on minimum wage increases.

“We changed our plan since Apindo has withdrawn their lawsuit,” SPTR coordinator Poniman said in Tangerang, Banten.

“Today's [peaceful] rally is to remind companies of their obligations to raise the worker’s wages in line with the Banten gubernatorial decree regarding the revised minimum wage,” he said, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Rally coordinator Koswara said that should the employers fail to abide by the decree, the workers would launch a mass rally on Feb. 23.

During the two recent rounds of renegotiations facilitated by Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Radjasa and the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, respectively, employers and unionists agreed to raise the minimum wage to Rp 1.8 million (US$203.4) from the governor-approved Rp 1.3 million mark in Bekasi, while the minimum wage in Tangerang and Serang would be set by the government later.

Both the government and employers bowed to demands after thousands of workers went on strike, blockaded toll roads and staged rallies in front of the Presidential Palace.

Meanwhile, Apindo agreed to withdraw its lawsuit at the State Administrative Court (PTUN) against the gubernatorial decrees on minimum wages in West Java and Banten, and both sides have agreed to give top priority to bipartite negotiations in setting the minimum wage hikes, to comply with minimum wage hikes starting in 2013. (han)