Lenny Tristia Tambun, Jakarta – Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama has rejected a request from 27 South Korean companies that they be exempt from immediately implementing Jakarta's 2015 minimum wage.

Basuki on Monday said there would be no delay in implementing the new provincial wage of Rp 2.7 million ($219) a month. "We rejected the motion because I refuse to be ordered around," the governor said.

He added that if foreign companies did not want to comply with regulations they could move elsewhere. "They could move to Majalengka [in West Java] the provincial minimum wage is still cheap there."

Basuki said the companies – who are all garment manufacturers based in Cilincing, North Jakarta – had made similar requests in the past, despite the fact wages were based on the capital's Decent Living Index, or KHL.

The KHL is used to define the minimum amount needed to sustain a "decent" quality of life in the capital. The head of Jakarta's Manpower and Transmigration Agency, Priyono, said all companies that wanted a delay had to go through the correct procedure.

An exemption could only be granted with a recommendation from the wage council, after a review of a company's finances, he said.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/jakarta/basuki-rejects-request-delay-new-minimum-wage/