Three provinces, namely Bali, Lampung and North Maluku, have yet to set their 2014 provincial minimum wage (UMP), which should have been determined by Nov.1.

'€œWe ask all regional heads to pay special attention to the workers-employers mediation process in determining the UMP 2014,'€ said Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar in a press statement on Monday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

'€œWe continue to push for the process to be accelerated so that tensions between workers and employers can be avoided,'€ he went on.

According to Manpower and Transmigration Ministry official data, as of Nov.18, 26 out of 34 provinces have set their respective 2014 UMPs.

As in previous years, it is likely that four provinces '€“ Central Java, East Java, West Java and Yogyakarta '€“ will not set a provincial minimum wage.

According to UMP reports received by the ministry, Jakarta has set the highest 2014 minimum wage at Rp 2,441,000 (US$209.85), followed by North Sulawesi and Papua, both at Rp 1.9 million.

West Kalimantan set the highest increase of 30.19 percent, followed by Bangka-Belitung (29.64 percent) and Southeast Sulawesi (25.63 percent). (ebf)