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S. Sulawesi administration lambasted for unfair wage increase
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Collective demand: Thousands of members of the Indonesian Metal Workers Federation (FSPMI) hold a rally in front of the State Palace in Central Jakarta. Amid pressure from labor unions, the government said that all provincial administrations would increase minimum wages to the levels it set for next year. (JP/DON)
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usiness players in South Sulawesi lambasted on Tuesday the decision of the provincial administration to increase the local minimum wage for 2017 above the government’s recommended level.
Earlier in the day, the South Sulawesi provincial administration announced that it would increase the provincial minimum wage (UMP) next year to Rp 2.5 million (US$190) per month, which represents an 11.1 percent increase from the current Rp 2.2 million.
Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) South Sulawesi chapter head Latunreng said the policy had gone against the government’s instruction for regional administrations to peg the minimum wage increase by 8.25 percent for 2017.
“We are disappointed. This will become a burden for us,” Latunreng said, claiming that a recent joint survey by local employers and labor unions found that the current appropriate UMP should have stood at Rp 2.05 million per month.
The Manpower Ministry previously said the minimum wage increase for next year must be pegged at 8.25 percent in 2017, considering basic macroeconomic assumptions for next year, like the level of inflation and economic growth.
South Sulawesi Manpower and Transmigration Agency head Agustinus Appang, however, said the local administration had complied with the instruction. At such a recommended level, he said, the new minimum wage for 2017 should stand at Rp 2.44 million.
“We just rounded up the figure,” he said.
The province, home to more than 8 million people, has seen farming, forestry, fisheries and manufacturing sectors as among the biggest contributors to its economy. (hwa)
