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Workers continue rallies, demand minimum wage increase
Jakarta Post - November 15, 2014
In Batam, workers blocked the main access to a number of industrial areas, such as the Tunas Industrial Zone at the Batam Center, where the main road was closed and guarded by security personnel.
The closure was aimed at preventing labor union members from conducting sweeps urging workers to join the protest against the 2015 minimum wage.
The rally was also focused at Batam City Hall, where protesters rejected the minimum wage recommendation by Batam Mayor Ahmad Dahlan. Dahlan announced the 2015 minimum wage had been set at Rp 2,664,302 (US$220) on Thursday afternoon.
According to Dahlan, the recommendation would immediately be conveyed to Riau Islands Governor Muhammad Sani for direct approval.
Unwilling to accept the recommendation, nearly 1,000 protesters on Friday assembled at Batam City Hall, where they criticized the mayor for not meeting their demand for a Rp 3.3 million minimum wage.
Indonesian Metal Workers Federation (FSPMI) Batam chapter secretary and FSPMI Guard commander Suprapto said the workers were disappointed with the mayor's stance.
"We will continue protesting to urge the mayor to hand the recommendation that we proposed to the governor. The prices of basic needs have surged, even though the new wage has not been set," said Suprapto.
According to him, the recommended minimum wage of Rp 2.6 million seemed blind to the reality in a number of regions that had set it at a higher level, whereas the cost of living in Batam was higher than in other Indonesian cities.
Economic observer and lecturer at Putera University in Batam, Suyono Saputra, said something was amiss in the discussions among workers, the government and employers to estimate a decent living standard.
"Every party has voiced that it is no longer the era of cheap labor, but the ideal wage is also not clear. This is due to different evaluation methods used by the three."
Meanwhile, workers grouped under the Central Java Struggling Workers' Movement (Gerbang) have asked for a minimum 10 percent hike in their minimum wage next year to fulfill 100 percent of the decent standard of living. With this, the wage being demanded for the province's 35 regencies/municipalities is a minimum Rp 1.3 million a month.
"The minimum wage has to be in accordance with the decent standard of living set in December, plus predicted inflation," Gerbang coordinator Nanang Setyono said in Semarang on Friday.
Gerbang, according to Nanang, also demanded the wage policy not be politicized. Nanang said the administration had always argued that a high wage would made investors go to other regions. "In fact, a low wage makes quality workers leave Central Java to look for a higher salary in other regions," Nanang said.
Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo agreed to the workers' demand for a minimum 10 percent hike next year. He also guaranteed that in 2015 there would be no regencies/municipalities in the province with a minimum wage of less than Rp 1 million a month.
Presently the lowest wage in the province is in Purworejo regency, at Rp 910,000 per month, while the highest is in Semarang City, at Rp 1,400,000 per month.
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