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RI asks Vietnam to establish same wage standard
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Vice President Jusuf Kalla (left) meets with Vietnamese President Trần Đại Quang at Casa Andina Hotel in Peru on Friday to discuss the same wage standard for workers proposal ahead of the APEC summit in Lima, which kicked off on Saturday. (Vice presidential office/-)
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ndonesia used the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, which kicked off on Saturday, to meet with its main industrial rival in Southeast Asia, Vietnam, on Friday to discuss the possibility of the two countries having the same wage standard for workers.
The initiative comes in the wake of many investors having left Indonesia in the past year after learning that Vietnam offers cheaper labor for industry.
Accompanying Kalla during the meeting, Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said that “having the same wage standard for workers would support the development of human resources in the two countries”.
“We proposed an initiative to establish a joint platform with regard to a wage standard in the industrial sector so that both Indonesia and Vietnam will not be confronted by investors with regard to which country offers cheaper wage for workers,” Airlangga said in Lima on Friday evening local time. Lima is 12 hours behind Jakarta time.
The minister said that the same wage standard for workers would support APEC’s goal of encouraging its 21 member countries to support human development in the Asia Pacific region, adding that Vietnam would consider Indonesia’s proposal.
It is expected that representatives from both countries after the APEC concludes on Sunday will conduct meetings in the future to discuss the Indonesian proposal in detail.
