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Journalists' adequate salary is Rp 6.5m: AJI
The Alliance Independent Journalists (AJI) and the Indonesian Media Workers Federation (FSPMI) have announced that in 2015, the minimum salary sufficient for journalists who have been working for at least one year in Jakarta is Rp 6
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he Alliance Independent Journalists (AJI) and the Indonesian Media Workers Federation (FSPMI) have announced that in 2015, the minimum salary sufficient for journalists who have been working for at least one year in Jakarta is Rp 6.5 million (US$534).
The chairman of AJI's Jakarta chapter, Umar Idris, said in a press release that the sum was calculated by analyzing 40 goods and services related to the needs of a journalist in Jakarta.
The factors include a food budget of Rp 2.1 million and the tools necessary for journalistic duties, such as a laptop and an internet modem, which came to about Rp 1.5 million.
'We also took into account the 30 percent increase in the price of subsidized fuel, which will affect the cost of transportation, housing and clothing,' he said.
Umar said AJI Jakarta and the FSPMI called on media companies and organizations to use the amount as a benchmark for journalist's monthly salaries.
According to a survey carried out by the two organizations in 60 media companies in Indonesia, some still pay their journalists less than the provincial minimum wage, which is Rp 2.7 million, while the average monthly salary of a reporter in Jakarta is about Rp 3 million.
FSPMI chairman Abdul Manan argued that low salaries made the profession vulnerable to bribery and extortion. 'The phenomenon endangers media independence,' he said. (***)
