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akarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama has signed a gubernatorial decree for the monthly city minimum wage to rise by 12.5 percent to Rp 2.7 million (US$222) in 2015, up from the current Rp 2.4 million. The figure is similar to the minimum wages of Depok and Tangerang, while the figure for Bekasi is Rp 2.9 million.

Although workers were not happy with the new governor'€™s decison, Ahok did try to be fair to both sides. The governor was eager to provide better welfare for the laborers, but at the same time he made it very clear that the city was obliged to protect the economy. Employers, meanwhile, demanded that the salary hike be accompanied by increased productivity.

We do not know until when workers will have to repeat their yearly street demonstrations just to get better payment from their employers, while employers also do not know until when they will have to deal with this annual headache.

Arguments for and against abound anytime a decision on the minimum wage is made by local government, because both workers and employers always try to defend their respective interests, which are contradictory. Therefore, a fair decision from the government is expected to bridge the interests of the two groups.

It is understandable that the decision does not make all parties, particularly workers, happy. They are most affected by the recent increase in subsidized-fuel prices, because they are not the main target of the government social safety net program introduced after the announcement of the fuel-price hike.

Therefore, they have to shoulder the burden of the price increases of various basic commodities.

Certainly, Governor Ahok wants to see better welfare for the capital'€™s workers. But it is not in the interests of any party if the employers have to close their businesses because they cannot afford to pay their workers'€™ salaries.

It is evident that Ahok knows the conditions faced by the workers, who have to shoulder the burden of the high cost of living in the capital. Therefore, he closed the door for employers to file requests to be exempted from the wage hike, even though such a procedure is possible under a ministerial decree, particularly for companies facing financial difficulties.

Ahok said that if a company could not pay the minimum wage, they should relocate their business to other regions. '€œI will not tolerate it if any company does not comply with the gubernatorial decree. There will be no postponements,'€ he said after announcing the decree on the city minimum wage on Wednesday.

We hope that the decision on this year'€™s Jakarta minimum wage will be seen as a compromise so that employers can maintain their business, workers can continue to work and the city economy can continue to function.

But, in fairness, the employers'€™ demands for better quality from their workers should also be taken into account in determining the minimum wage.