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Union, business association lock horns as minimum wage talks near
Labor unions and business associations disagree regarding minimum wage increase as Indonesia braces for the annual discussions in November that will lay the groundwork for 2025 remuneration.
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Activists block traffic as they stop other workers from heading to factories during a nationwide strike demanding wage increases at the Cibitung industrial estate in Bekasi regency, West Java, on Nov. 30, 2023. (AFP/Rezas)
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government official has promised that the upcoming minimum wage talks would not be disrupted by the departure of the manpower minister and would take into account workers’ demands.
“We understand that all [the arrangements are established] in [prevailing] regulations. But, in reality, we understand the needs of our friends, the workers. So, we’ll try finding a way out,” the secretary of the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister, Susiwijono Moegiarso, said on Wednesday, as quoted by Infobanknews.com.
Susiwjiono revealed on the same day that Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto had been appointed as the interim manpower minister to replace Ida Fauziyah, who was elected as a lawmaker and sworn in at the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Susiwijono had told reporters on Monday that Ida had promised to wrap up the building blocks for the minimum wage regulations before starting work as a House lawmaker.
The positions of labor unions and business associations on the next minimum wage hike remain far apart as Indonesia braces for the annual discussions in November that will lay the groundwork for 2025 remuneration.
The Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) has demanded an increase of 8 to 10 percent based on its calculation of adding up the inflation rate of around 2.5 percent “in the past two years” and the economic growth rate of 5.2 percent.
“We propose an increase of 8 percent but […] also an additional 2 percent — a raise of 10 percent — for regions that have high wage disparity with nearby regencies or cities. This is hoped to eliminate wage disparity in those places,” KSPI chairman Said Iqbal said in a press statement released on Friday.
