Prodita Sabarini, Jakarta – Underpaid female workers are turning to prostitution to make ends meet, union activists say.

In a meeting with city councilors Tuesday, workers asked the council to recommend Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo raise the provincial minimum wage to at least meet the basic living cost in the city.

National Workers Union (SPN) member Halili said that in industrial areas, due to the meager income workers made, some women moonlighted as prostitutes.

The 2010 minimum wage in Jakarta is Rp 1,118,009, or 84.84 percent of the estimated basic living cost, which for 2010 has been calculated at Rp 1,317,710.

"The wages that workers receive each month don't cover the living costs, even if they work overtime," said Emilia Yanti, from the Coalition of Independent Workers Unions (GSBI). "To make ends meet, some women are resorting to selling themselves."

She added there were also groups taking advantage of the women's situation and steering them into prostitution.

"They trap the women to get in," she said. "It's all very well covered. The organizing of female workers as prostitutes is very well organized."

Emilia then told of two workers in Tangerang who had related to her how they had been lured into the sex trade by organized pimp groups.

"This is a recurring phenomenon in several industrial areas, where there are a lot of factories and workers," she said.

"With an increase in living costs and consistently low wages, prostitution will take place. We also found from a survey we carried out that at least 30 percent of women are the breadwinners in their families."

Their husbands are often unemployed or working odd jobs. "These women then either resort to prostitution or get tangled in debt to loan sharks," she said.

Thousands of Jakarta workers rallied in front of City Hall on Tuesday to demand a wage increase.

Traffic along Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan, across from the National Monument Park, ground to a halt as protesters brandishing union flags shouted "Long live workers" as they marched down the street. The group moved to the City Council after failing to meet the governor.

They pointed out Jakarta's minimum wage was lower than in Depok and Bekasi. The minimum wage in Depok is Rp 1,157,000 and in Bekasi Rp 1,168,000.

They demanded the wage system be reformed, as there were many components, such as communication expenses and taxes, which had not been taken into account when deciding the minimum wage.

The SPN's Halili said the wage increase they sought was not excessive, and only sufficient to make ends meet.

He added 38 unions in Jakarta had joined forces to reject the new minimum wage. "If we want to make a mess in Jakarta, we can do it," he warned.

City councilors from Commission B, overseeing labor, met with union representatives. Commission secretary Thamrin said the councilors were on the workers' side.

"We'll summon the governor," he said. "We think the wage you requested, which is the standard cost to live decently in Jakarta, is understandable."

Thamrin added the council would prepare a recommendation for the governor after summoning the administration and the Jakarta Wage Board, comprising union representatives, the government and the business sector.