Several provinces announced their 2023 minimum wages on Monday, the last day of a deadline that had been pushed back by a week in a last-minute regulation issued earlier this month, namely Manpower Ministry Regulation No. 18/2022.

Jakarta saw a 5.6 percent increase to Rp 4,901,798 (US$311.79), marking the lowest percentage increase among all provinces on Java Island, while the administrations of Banten and West Java increased their minimum wages by 6.4 percent to Rp 2,661,280 and by 7.88 percent to Rp 1,986,670, respectively.

Both Banten and West Java are home to satellite cities and regencies of Greater Jakarta, such as Tangerang, Bogor, Bekasi and Depok.

East Java, meanwhile, saw a 7.86 percent increase to Rp 2,040,244, but the highest relative increase among Java provinces was in Central Java, where Governor Ganjar Pranowo raised the basic pay by 8.01 percent to Rp 1,812,935.

“We have already had talks with employers and workers to find a middle ground,” Ganjar told reporters on Monday. “They [workers] are actually willing to negotiate.”

Read also: Workers deserve higher pay

Labor Party chairperson Said Iqbal said on Monday that the party opposed the rate increase due to the percentage hike being lower than the sum of inflation and GDP growth, which are estimated at 6.5 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Said told reporters he believed that using data from September of this year and comparing that to September last year to assess inflation failed to capture the full impact of the increase in administered fuel prices conducted in September this year, much of which had only begun to show up in the economy in October.

“The rise in minimum wages all over Indonesia should [equal] inflation and economic growth in provinces and cities or regencies in the current year, instead of using a year-on-year basis,” he said.

Said singled out the 5.6 percent minimum wage increase in Jakarta as being “insensitive to the lives of workers” by being lower than the national average estimate and not covering the basic living expenses in the city.

The party estimates the basic labor living cost in the capital at Rp 3.7 million, consisting of renting a house in the city for a month at around Rp 900,000, transportation costs of Rp 900,000, food consumption at food stalls of Rp 1.2 million, electricity consumption of Rp 400,000 and communication spending of Rp 300,000.

"Is this enough to pay for clothes, drinking water, neighborhood fees and other necessities?" Said continued.

To that end, the Labor Party demanded that the minimum wage hike in Jakarta be upped to 10.55 percent. Previously, the party had pushed for a 13 percent increase.

“If our demands are not met, starting from next week, there will be large demonstrations in various areas of Indonesia," Said added.

Businesses, on the other hand, are also dissatisfied with the rate increases apparently derived from the new formula stipulated in the Manpower Ministry regulation.

The Indonesia Employers Association (Apindo) filed a petition with the Constitutional Court on Monday for a judicial review of that regulation based on the fact that the minimum wage formula in that was different from Government Regulation (PP) No. 36/2022.

Apindo requested that the court declare Manpower Ministry Regulation No. 18/2022 void because of the conflict with PP No. 36/2022.

"We ask the Constitutional Court to quickly decide on the review due to its importance for business continuity in the country," Apindo lawyer Denny Indrayana said.

Read also: New minimum wage policy earns praise from labor

The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) also decided to file a petition for a review with the court after a meeting with various business associations on Nov. 23.

Kadin argues that Manpower Ministry Regulation No.18/2022 created ambiguity though regulatory dualism and legal uncertainty.

"Whatever the result is, businesses are ready to comply," Kadin chairman Arsjad Rasjid said on Nov. 25.

Indonesia Development and Islamic Studies (IDEAS) director Yusuf Wibisono said on Tuesday that the moves by several governors to use Manpower Ministry Regulation No. 18/2022 instead of PP 36/2021 was "not appreciative of labor productivity".

He said the minimum wage increase of around 6 to 8 percent was a "middle way" amid the need to ensure workers’ purchasing power but at the same time be mindful of businesses affected by the global slowdown, such as export-oriented industries.

"The minimum wage increase in 2023 could, at the very least, compensate for inflation, which is projected to be between 6 percent and 8 percent," Yusuf told The Jakarta Post.