Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – Workers in a number of cities in Indonesia took to the streets again today, October 26. The Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions or KSPI President Said Iqbal said they demanded a hike in the 2022 regency or city's minimum wage (UMK) by 7 to 10 percent.

"This is in line with the result of the survey on decent living needs conducted by KSPI," said Iqbal in an official statement, Tuesday.

KSPI said today's rally was attended by tens of thousands of workers from 1,000 factories in 24 provinces and 100 regencies/cities. They also urged the regency/city's minimum wage to remain valid, the omnibus law on Job Creation to be revoked, and a collective labor agreement to be realized without the Job Creation Law. If the act was not responded to, Iqbal said they will be ready to stage follow-up actions.

The Ministry of Manpower is still discussing next year's minimum wage policy. The dialogue was held along with the National Wage Council (Depenas) and the National Tripartite Cooperation Agency (BP LKS Tripnas) in Jakarta on October 21-22.

Although no detailed announcement has been issued, the ministry's Director General of Industrial Relations and Social Security, Indah Anggoro Putri, gave a signal on an increase in the minimum wage.

The Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah decided to not increase this year's provincial minimum wage via a circular, asking regional heads to set it equal to the 2020 minimum wage. However, six provinces were determined to make an increase, namely Jakarta, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, South Sulawesi, and Bengkulu.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1521423/workers-stage-rally-demanding-higher-2022-minimum-wage-by-1