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Workers pressure Anies on minimum wage promise
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Workers stage a rally on International Labor Day at the Bank Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta in May. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
H
undreds of members of various labor organizations gathered in front of City Hall on Friday afternoon to protest the new provincial minimum wage.
The labor unions, including the Indonesian Metal Workers Federation (FSPMI) and the Indonesian Workers Union Association (Aspek), planned to march to the Presidential Palace after Friday prayers.
They demanded Jakarta’s 2018 minimum wage be revised, the revocation of Government Regulation (PP) No 78/2015 on wages and lower electricity rates. The minimum wage was set at Rp 3.6 million (US$266) last week.
Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPI) deputy president Muhamad Rusdi said the minimum wage was not in line with the campaign promise of Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.
Rusdi said the minimum wage for Jakarta should be much higher than that of Karawang and Bekasi in West Java, which were Rp 3.5 million and Rp 3.6 million, respectively
"It's weird because the living cost here is more than in those two regions," he said. Labor unions have demanded that the minimum wage in Jakarta be set at Rp 3.9 million.
Rusdi said the government regulation was not in line with Law No. 13/2003, which stipulates that the basic cost of living, inflation and economic growth be taken into account in the setting of the minimum wage.
PP No. 78/2015 only stipulates that inflation and economic growth be taken into account. (rdi)
