Dofa Fasila – The Jakarta Administration announced on Friday that the provincial minimum wage would be raised next year by about 16 percent, setting the stage for a strike by workers holding out for more.
Deded Sukendar, the head of Jakarta's Manpower and Transmigration office, said governor Fauzi Bowo had received the proposal on Friday and that it would be enacted immediately.
The hike, he said, was intended to give workers better living standards without unduly straining their employers.
"We were trying to find a compromise in setting the 2012 UMP [minimum wage]," he said. The monthly wage they settled on was roughly Rp 1.5 million ($167) per month.
A heated debate between the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), which sought a UMP monthly wage of no more than Rp 1.41 million, and the Jakarta Workers' Forum, which wanted at least Rp 1.52 million, had prolonged the deliberations.
On Thursday, a meeting between the two organizations, along with the Jakarta government, reached a deadlock as workers sealed off the exits.
Muhammad Rusdi, secretary general of the Indonesian Association of Workers' Unions (Aspek), said the forum would not back down, arguing that their demand had been adjusted for the capital's growing cost of living. He said that more than 50,000 workers in Jakarta were prepared to strike.
"A massive strike will start from Monday to Friday next week, taking place in all business and in dustrial areas," he said, adding that they would rally until their demands were met.
Just last year, the governor announced a 15 percent UMP increase – higher than the 10 percent sought by the workers and more than double the council's recommendation of 7.15 percent.
Separately, deputy governor Prijanto said that the government was trying to accommodate both sides' needs and urged workers to consider the ability of their employers to afford such a hike.
"The government is thinking about what happens to companies, and keeping them from collapsing if they provide more wages than they can afford," he said.
"We are looking for middle grounds, like including workers in insurance schemes rather than forcing employers to provide more pay. If a company collapses, then both sides lose."