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Employers to boycott minimum wage for Batam

Employers in Batam, Riau Islands Province, have voiced plans to boycott the implementation of the new minimum wage set by the local authority, arguing that the decision was made under pressures and without the presence of their representatives

Fadli and Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post)
Batam/Bandung
Fri, November 23, 2012

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Employers to boycott minimum wage for Batam

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mployers in Batam, Riau Islands Province, have voiced plans to boycott the implementation of the new minimum wage set by the local authority, arguing that the decision was made under pressures and without the presence of their representatives.

This was supported by the provincial Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) head Johannes Kennedy Aritonang, the provincial Association of Indonesian Employers (Apindo) chairman Cahaya, Apindo Batam chairman OK Simatupang and the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Association chairman Syarifuddin Andi Bola in Batam on Wednesday evening.

The Batam Wage Council (DPK) announced to the protesting workers on Wednesday that the 2013 wage was set at Rp 2.04 million (US$211) per month, an increase of over Rp 600,000 from the 2012 wage.

Cahaya said the DPK’s decision was not legitimate because it was not a deliberation but rather a process of coercion by the workers.

“How could they talk if thousands of workers surrounded the deliberation site. A deliberation needs a neutral environment,” Cahaya said.

Cahaya added that it would be difficult for the employers to meet with the minimum wage as their maximum capability was Rp 1.7 million for the coming year. This is why he called on Apindo members not to comply with it.

Johannes concured.

“Wage components are calculated over two to five years and we have experienced two jumps already. The government must also listen to employers and not just to workers,” he said.

Johannes said he would file a summons to the State Administrative Court if the decision was endorsed by the Riau Islands governor.

The meeting in which the DPK decided on the minimum wage, held on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., was only attended by representatives from the local administration and workers unions.

It was a continuation of Monday’s meeting, which had ended in deadlock as neither Apindo or workers unions could agree on the amount.

Apindo did not attend the following meeting on Wednesday.

Thousands of workers went on strike across the nation on Wednesday to demand an increase in wages and in opposition to the national social security programs, which they say are against the Amended 1945 Constitution.

The Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union (SBSI) secretary Surya Dharma Sitompul said the DPK’s decision on minimum wage was inline with employees aspirations.

“We ask the mayor and governor to endorse the decision. It has been a long time since workers were heard. There did not used to be a workers movement in Batam,” he said.

In West Java, the 2013 minimum wage in cities and regencies has been raised by 25.6 percent on average compared to the previous year. The increases range from between Rp 50,000 and Rp 827,800.

Unlike in Jakarta — where the minimum wage is set at the provincial level — in West Java it is set at the city and regency level.

“I did not make any changes to the figures proposed by the 26 regents and mayors. All I did was endorse it,” West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan said in Bandung on Wednesday.

He said there were 17 regencies or cities whose minimum wage was higher or equal to the their respective basic cost of living (KHL).

“For eastern part of West Java [Ciamis, Tasikmalaya and Banjar], the minimum wages remain under the KHL,” Heryawan said.

West Java Manpoweer and Transmigration Agency head Hening Widiatmoko said the differences were due to the result of KHL surveys and meetings of the DPK in the respective regions.

Bekasi municipality was recorded to have the highest minimum wage of Rp 2.1 million per month while Majalengka regency was recorded with the lowest wage of Rp 850,000.

In anticipation of employers’ incapability to pay the minimum wage, Heryawan welcomed them to file objections before 10 days prior to it’s implementation on Jan. 1, 2013.

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