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Indonesia: Workers to Rally Against Mass Layoffs Today, Demanding Increase in Minimum Wage
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Workers, under the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) of Jakarta, will be demonstrating at the City Hall Office, Central Jakarta, Thursday, November 10, 2022.
The demonstrations consist of the demand for an increase in the Provincial Minimum Wage (UMP) 2023 by 13 percent and the rejection of mass employee layoffs by the threat of a global recession reasons.
“We will take to the street and hold a demonstration at the Jakarta governor’s office,” the Head of the Regional Representative for the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions, Winarso, said in a statement.
Winarso stated that the workers reject Government Regulation (PP) 36/2021 which is a derivative regulation from the Omnibus Law regarding wages, and was declared by the Indonesia Constitutional Court to be formally flawed. “Therefore, the increase in the Provincial Minimum Wage must use Government Regulation number 78,” he said.
According to Winarso, the demand for an increase in the UMP by 13 percent has also gone through various considerations. One of them follows the calculation of inflation conditions and national economic growth.
He explained that the inflation rate for January-December is estimated at 6.5 percent including the assumption of economic growth based on the Labor Party’s R&D prediction at about 4.9 percent. “In total, the value is 11.4 percent. We add alpha for purchasing power at 1.6 percent. For that, we ask for a 13 Percent increase in wages next year,” he said.
The pressure to increase the UMP, Winarso said, also cannot be separated from the reduction in purchasing power of workers by up to 30 percent due to the recent increase in fuel oil prices. This is because the prices of goods and services consumed by workers have soared.
Several inflation components in which prices have soared include food and beverages, transportation, and housing. Therefore, the wages that pose as the blood vessels of the workers, will continue to be urged for an increase.
Today in Indonesia on November 10, 2022. Winarso stated that the demonstration coincides with Indonesia Heroes’ Day. Therefore it will also be considered a day of resistance for the workers in Jakarta in particular.
“The low-waged regime should not be allowed to continue to degrade the welfare of the workers. The increase in the minimum wage by 13 percent is a fixed price that must be fought for together,” said Winarso.
The five demands that will be expressed by the workers in the demonstration are:
1. Reject Government Regulation Number 36 of 2021 as a reference for 2023 Wage Increases
2. The basis for determining the Wage Increase in 2023 must refer to inflation and economic growth
3. Increase the Minimum Wage in 2023 by 13 percent
4. Reject Omnibus Law
5. Reject layoffs with the threat of a global recession
The Chairman of the Economic Policy Analyst Committee of the Indonesian Employers’ Association (Apindo), Ajib Hamdani, considers the demand from the workers makes it difficult for companies. Especially in 2022, several companies are still hit by economic instability.
“In 2022, there have been layoffs of more than 80,000 employees. That’s the data that entered the association (Apindo). This means that the raw data is still very likely to be greater than that,” said Ajib in a Market Review broadcast on the IDX Channel, Wednesday, November 9, 2022.
An increase of up to 13 percent, according to Ajib, is not ideal. This is because when referring to the Job Creation Act, the formulation of wage increases is based on economic growth and the inflation rate. Meanwhile, the projected economic growth at the end of 2023 is 5.2 to 5.4 percent.
“If we assume inflation grows by 4 percent, then actually the most rational thing to raise wages in 2023 is in the range of 8 to 9 percent,” said Ajib.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1655212/workers-to-rally-against-mass-layoffs-today-demanding-increase-in-minimum-wage