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Hundreds of laborers rally in front of
Jakarta's City Hall on Oct. 24, 2012, demanding higher wages and the end
of contract labor. Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo approved a 44 percent
minimum wage hike in November, 2012
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The Confederation of Indonesian Trade
Unions will set up complaint posts in order to monitor the
implementation of Jakarta’s new minimum wage law, which is set to take
effect this year.
Muhammad Rusdi, the secretary-general of the confederation, also known as the KSPI, noted that the body will give leeway to small and medium enterprises who must postpone implementing the new wage.
The KSPI, however, will not tolerate medium-to-large businesses who fail to follow the law.
“We will take legal action if they [medium-to-large entrepreneurs] refuse to carry out the new minimum wage because it’s a breach of the law,” Rusdi said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Last year, the Jakarta administration raised the minimum wage by 44 percent to Rp 2.2 million ($227) per month for 2013.
Despite the newly increased minimum wage, Rusdi said that the body will keep fighting for the welfare of laborers.
“Our first demand is to reform the wage system,” he commented.
According to Rusdi, there are 24 basic-need items that must be added to the system, such as mobile phone credit, phone and television service, dining tables and mortgage assistance.
Other than laborers, the chairman added that the government must also look after temporary teachers, many of whom are being paid only Rp 150 thousand per month. The KSPI counts roughly one million temporary teachers as members.
“They [temporary teachers] are national heroes. We want the government to properly subsidize the teachers’ salaries,” he said.
The confederation is also calling for health insurance for all laborers starting in January of 2014.
“We wish to have health insurance for all Indonesian citizens before the President’s term ends,” Rusdi said.
Additionally, the KSPI wants a pension allowance for laborers to be created, and Rusdi called on the Manpower and Transmigration to regulate it.
Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar earlier said that despite a few large-scale demonstrations, industrial relationships between employers and laborers are improving amid the number of layoffs declining by 60 percent last year.
The Ministry recorded 3,875 layoff cases involving 17,106 workers in 2011, whereas in 2012 there were only 1,916 cases involving 7,465 labors. Rusdi noted that the decline in layoffs was the result of Indonesia’s strong economic growth.
“Businesses in the country are doing well. There is no reason for entrepreneurs to cut their employees,” Rusdi said, explaining that mass firings mostly happen when a nation’s economic condition worsens or when mass outsourcing or entrepreneurial arrogance occurs.
“Outsourcing forces are now limited, so it becomes difficult for entrepreneurs to fire their workers one-sidedly,” he added.
Muhammad Rusdi, the secretary-general of the confederation, also known as the KSPI, noted that the body will give leeway to small and medium enterprises who must postpone implementing the new wage.
The KSPI, however, will not tolerate medium-to-large businesses who fail to follow the law.
“We will take legal action if they [medium-to-large entrepreneurs] refuse to carry out the new minimum wage because it’s a breach of the law,” Rusdi said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Last year, the Jakarta administration raised the minimum wage by 44 percent to Rp 2.2 million ($227) per month for 2013.
Despite the newly increased minimum wage, Rusdi said that the body will keep fighting for the welfare of laborers.
“Our first demand is to reform the wage system,” he commented.
According to Rusdi, there are 24 basic-need items that must be added to the system, such as mobile phone credit, phone and television service, dining tables and mortgage assistance.
Other than laborers, the chairman added that the government must also look after temporary teachers, many of whom are being paid only Rp 150 thousand per month. The KSPI counts roughly one million temporary teachers as members.
“They [temporary teachers] are national heroes. We want the government to properly subsidize the teachers’ salaries,” he said.
The confederation is also calling for health insurance for all laborers starting in January of 2014.
“We wish to have health insurance for all Indonesian citizens before the President’s term ends,” Rusdi said.
Additionally, the KSPI wants a pension allowance for laborers to be created, and Rusdi called on the Manpower and Transmigration to regulate it.
Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar earlier said that despite a few large-scale demonstrations, industrial relationships between employers and laborers are improving amid the number of layoffs declining by 60 percent last year.
The Ministry recorded 3,875 layoff cases involving 17,106 workers in 2011, whereas in 2012 there were only 1,916 cases involving 7,465 labors. Rusdi noted that the decline in layoffs was the result of Indonesia’s strong economic growth.
“Businesses in the country are doing well. There is no reason for entrepreneurs to cut their employees,” Rusdi said, explaining that mass firings mostly happen when a nation’s economic condition worsens or when mass outsourcing or entrepreneurial arrogance occurs.
“Outsourcing forces are now limited, so it becomes difficult for entrepreneurs to fire their workers one-sidedly,” he added.
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