TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Confederation of Indonesian Labor Unions (KSPI) urged Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to file an appeal against the Jakarta Administrative Court’s (PTUN) verdict that revoked the increase in the provincial minimum wage by 5.1 percent to Rp 4.64 million by this week at the latest.

To date, Anies has not yet made a decision on whether or not the city will file an appeal against the court’s verdict on July 12, 2022, that granted the Jakarta Employers Association’s (Apindo) claim to cancel the increase in the city's minimum wage.

KSPI chairman Said Iqbal said he had contacted Anies. Yet in the meeting, he assessed that Anies seemed to have no plan to submit an appeal.

Said criticized the former education and culture minister’s stance that tended to be silent and considered the latter having an inconsistent decision.

He opined that the governor’s decision to increase the city’s minimum wage must have taken into account legal, sociological, company capabilities, and the purchasing power of workers. “How come he remains silent when defeated by the PTUN. It shows that he is inconsistent,” said Said on Tuesday, July 26, 2022.

He also opined that Anies Baswedan’s silence was based on a group of labor unions that did not press him for an appeal. At present, Said acknowledged that labor unions are divided into two groups of pros and cons of the appeal.

It was feared that the silence would encourage Apindo to lower wages every year by hiding behind the voices of unions that accepted no wage hike, Said informed.

KSPI also assessed that there were irregularities behind Anies’ reason for not filing an appeal. Jakarta, Said added, deemed that the court’s ruling was in accordance with the prevailing rules.

On Wednesday, July 20, the Jakarta Legal Bureau claimed it is waiting for Anies Baswedan's decision on an appeal against the court’s ruling. “We can't take the initiative. If there is an order to appeal, we will definitely do it,” said the staff of the Law Bureau, Tariq, during an audience with labor representatives in the Jakarta National and Political Unity Office (Kesbangpol).

IQBAL MUHTAROM

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