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Central Java adjusts minimum wage
Horse and force: Two dancers perform the traditional kuda lumping (horse dance) during a rally staged by thousands of workers at the Grahadi state building in Surabaya, East Java, on Thursday
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span class="inline inline-center">Horse and force: Two dancers perform the traditional kuda lumping (horse dance) during a rally staged by thousands of workers at the Grahadi state building in Surabaya, East Java, on Thursday. East Java Governor Soekarwo set on Thursday the Surabaya monthly city minimum wage (UMK) at Rp 2.7 million (US$221). JP/Wahyoe Boediwardhana
Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo announced on Thursday the 2015 minimum wage (UMK) for 35 regencies and cities across the province to all Manpower and Transmigration Agency heads at his office in Semarang.
Ganjar said the 2015 UMK had been raised 2 percent from the amount earlier proposed by mayors and regents following the increase in subsidized-fuel prices.
Central Java Remuneration Council member Dono Raharjo said he was ready to reassess the 2015 UMK in the 35 regencies and cities in accordance with the 2 percent rise. He said if the UMK was not adjusted to take into account the fuel-price increase, the buying power of workers would drop.
'The remuneration council will assess the additional items in accordance with the fuel price increase,' he said.
Ganjar said the highest UMK was effective in Semarang at Rp 1,685,000 (US$139) and the lowest was in West Cilacap and Banyumas regencies at Rp 1,100,000.
Separately, around 1,000 people affiliated with the West Java Workers Alliance held a rally at the Gedung Sate gubernatorial office in Bandung on Thursday.
West Java chapter Indonesia Workers Union Confederation leader Roy Jinto said the rally was aimed at ensuring the subsidized fuel price increase had been accommodated in the 2015 UMK, which should be approved by Friday at the latest.
'We demand an additional 7.8 percent for the UMK, in line with the inflation expected to occur from the fuel price hike,' Roy said.
West Java Manpower and Transmigration Agency Social Development Division head Marwini said the governor was waiting for the recommendation from the West Java Remuneration Council.
'The remuneration council will hold a tripartite meeting with every stakeholder, including employers and workers, and we will be the mediator. Components of the fuel price increase will be calculated by experts in front of everyone,' said Marwini.
As of the afternoon of Nov. 20, Bekasi and Bandung regencies had yet to submit their wage recommendations to the West Java Remuneration Council.
In Surabaya, East Java, workers took to the streets again in protest of East Java Governor Soekarwo's decision to set the 2015 UMK at Rp 2.5 million. The decision was reached after a two-hour meeting between the governor and 15 teams representing the workers at the Grahadi State Building on Wednesday.
'We will continue to hold massive rallies and pack Surabaya city until our demand for Rp 3 million is met,' said rally coordinator Usman on Thursday.
Later on Thursday afternoon, Soekarwo officially decided to set the UMK in Surabaya at Rp 2.7 million. Separately, the East Java chapter of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) deputy head, Gunawan, said the workers' UMK demand of Rp 3 million was excessive.
Indra harsaputra also contributed to this story
