O

nly six provinces in the country have agreed to increase the regional minimum wage for 2013, while 27 others are expected to follow suit soon.

The North Sumatra provincial government, which hosts three industrial estates in Medan, Tanjung Morawa and Pematang Siantar, has decided to raise the minimum wage to Rp 1.31 million (US$135) from the current Rp 1.2 million, while Papua will increase its provincial minimum wage to Rp 1.71 million from the current Rp 1.52 million.

Manpower and Transmigration Ministry data show that the provincial minimum wage in Bengkulu will be raised to Rp 1.2 million from the current Rp 930,000. In Bangka Belitung, the local government will increase the minimum wage to Rp 1.27 million from the current Rp 1.11 million, whereas in West Kalimantan, the amount will rise to Rp 1.06 million from the current Rp 900,000 and in South Kalimantan from Rp 1.23 million to Rp 1.34 million.

Jakarta, West Java and Banten — which host a number of industrial areas in Tangerang, East Jakarta, Bekasi, Karawang, Purwakarta and Bandung — have yet to announce new wage figures for 2013, but governors in the three provinces agreed to increase the regional minimum wage during a meeting with Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar over the weekend.

Both the government and labor unions have called for a significant increase in minimum wages for 2013, especially in industrial estates. The Manpower and Transmigration Ministry recently issued Decree No. 13/2012 on an increase in the wage components from 46 to 60.

Muhaimin has called on governors and local wage committees to expedite their deliberation of the new minimum wages to allow time for information about the final decisions to be disseminated before they come into effect on Jan. 1, 2013.

He said that according to a 1994 ministerial decree, provincial minimum wages should be set two months before they take effect, whereas the minimum wages for regencies and municipalities must be announced 40 days before their enforcement.

The minister also urged regional heads and regional wage committees to factor in not only minimum physical needs and the price index of all basic commodities but also inflation, macro-productivity and economic growth, before deciding on the new minimum wages.

Labor unions and economists have suggested that a wage increase of about 100 percent in Jakarta and surrounding areas to around Rp 3 million from the current Rp 1.5 million would allow workers to not only live decent lives but also make payments to the pension scheme under the national social security system.

The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) has made efforts to review the wage system by designing special minimum wages that would enable small and medium companies to grow.

Apindo chairman Sofjan Wanandi has said it is unfair for the government to force small companies to pay minimum wages while allowing major companies to pay workers far higher than the minimum wage level.