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Jakarta to follow government decision on minimum wage raise
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Construction workers install sheet piles along the Grogol River in Palmerah, West Jakarta. (The Jakarta Post/Dhoni Setiawan )
J
akarta administration has decided to follow the central government’s instruction of raising the 2019 provincial minimum wage (UMP) by 8.03 percent.
"We're following the regulation," Jakarta Manpower and Transmigration Agency head Andri Yansyah said on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com, referring to Government Regulation No. 78/2015 on wages.
The regulation stipulates that any increase in the minimum wage must be based on the inflation rate and economic development at the time.
This means that Jakarta will likely increase its minimum wage from the current Rp 3.6 million (US$236.76) per month to Rp 3.9 million. The plan will be deliberated on Wednesday.
Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri said the 8.03 percent increase was decided on based on Statistics Indonesia's data, which states this year's inflation stands at 2.88 percent and economic development at 5.15 percent.
The calculation, however, differs from demands made by workers unions, who argued that the raise should be based on the decent living index.
Last year, the city administration attempted to fulfill workers' needs through a subsidy.
However, Jakarta Wage Council member Sarman Simanjorang has said that some companies believed the increase was too high, considering the rupiah’s continuous decline.
"The 8.03 percent raise will burden employers, [...] but they will obey the rule," he said in a written statement. (vla)
