T

housands of workers from dozens of alliances in Greater Jakarta staged a protest against Government Regulation (PP) No. 78/2015 on minimum wages on Friday, a day after the Jakarta administration set a new minimum wage of Rp 3.1 million (US$226).

The workers were delivered by buses and mini-trucks and gathered on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, near the Arjuna Wijaua Monument, before marching to Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara to congregate in front of the State Palace where they voiced their concerns over the new wage formula.

They demanded the government revoke the regulation and that next year'€™s wages should be increased by 22 to 25 percent.

If those demands were ignored they said they would stage a nationwide protest from Nov. 1 through Dec. 30.

The new regulation, issued last week, stipulates a measured annual wage increase that takes into account the current fiscal year'€™s inflation and gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates.

It replaced the old formula that was based on a cost of living (KHL) survey of 84 basic commodities and other daily needs of workers.

At City Hall, Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama said that the city administration tried to accommodate the new wage regulation and the demands of both parties '€“ businessmen and workers.

Ahok said that if the city used the new PP, the provincial minimum wage (UMP) would be Rp 3.03 million, while if the city administration used the previous calculation, which used the cost of living index, the UMP would be Rp 3.13 million.

'€œI have to follow the new regulation, but I asked the company representatives to add Rp 70,000, so the UMP becomes Rp 3.1 million. It means the workers should lower their proposed amount,'€ he said.

Workers wanted to raise the wage to Rp 3.32 million.

Ahok said that although he had not signed the gubernatorial decree on the wages, there would not be any changes. He added that the city administration would not grant any postponements proposed by any companies.

Separately, Suprayitno, the head of the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said that the association was disappointed with the new UMP.

'€œThe amount is not in accordance with the new PP. If using the PP, the UMP will be Rp 3.01 million,'€ he said.

He said that the governor should have followed the regulation. '€œWe have tolerated the setting of a KHL of Rp 2.98 million,'€ he said.

Suprayitno said the level of the new KHL was even higher than this year'€™s UMP, which was Rp 2.7 million.

'€œHence, making it into Rp 3.1 million is not fair and does not follow the regulation,'€ he said.

Suprayitno said he would let President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla reprimand the regional leaders who did not follow the new regulation.

'€œThe city administration is also not supposed to reject companies that ask for postponements,'€ he said. (saf)