Jakarta – Thousands of laborers demonstrated on Thursday in front of City Hall on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan, Central Jakarta, demanding that Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama make the Jakarta minimum wage (UPM) the highest of any region in Java.

"We demand that the sectoral minimum wage in Jakarta be the highest in Java," said chair of the Jakarta chapter of the All Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI) Yulianto during the demonstration.

The protesters were members of the SPSI's Federation of Metal, Electronic and Machine Workers Union (Jakarta FSP LEM SPSI). They called on the Jakarta payment council to discuss the sectoral minimum wage (UMSP), not just the provincial minimum wage (UMP) in general.

Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama previously decided on a 2016 Jakarta minimum wage of Rp 3.1 million (US$226), lower than the Bekasi's planned Rp 3.3 million.

The demonstrators also called on the Jakarta city administration to reject the new formula for calculating the minimum wage in Government Regulation No. 78/2015 on the payments, which is based solely on the current fiscal year's inflation and gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate.

Instead they demanded the government to return to Law No. 13 that also considers the basic cost of living in a given province based on the prices of 84 commodities and daily needs in that province.

Some 500 police officers guarded the demonstration, which was held on the third day of a national strike called by number of leaders of trade unions that will end on Friday.

Ahok refused to comment on the new government regulation concerning payment formulas. "I don't want to comment on it. They should ask the President," he said. About the demonstration, he only said: "I would just like them to play good dangdut songs." (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/26/jakarta-minimum-wage-should-be-highest-workers.html