Jakarta – The Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) is calling on Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to appeal a State Administrative Court ruling annulling the city administration's decision to increase the minimum wage by 5.1 percent.
On July 12, the court accepted the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) Jakarta's lawsuit to cancel the increase in the city's minimum wage to Rp 4.64 million (US$309.29). The association demanded that the Jakarta administration increase the minimum wage by the prescribed 0.8 percent, which would amount to Rp 4.57 million
KSPI president Said Iqbal said that if the governor failed to file an appeal by this week, labor workers would file their own suit.
"With the Labor Party and other labor unions [...], we will file our own suit without involving the governor," Said said on Tuesday as quoted by Tempo.
In December 2021, Anies moved to increase the provincial minimum wage in Jakarta by 5.1 percent, saying workers in the capital deserved better.
"Workers deserve this 5.1 percent increase, but we are also convinced that this won't be too burdensome for employers," Anies said at the time.
The governor added that the increase could stimulate economic growth in the capital by stimulating consumer spending.
Apindo has sought to constrain the minimum wage for next year by demanding that any increase be based on the Job Creation Law rather than on the demands of labor unions.
The organization said in November 2021 that in line with the jobs law, the increase would be based on regional economic growth or inflation and, as such, would be below the rise demanded by unions.