TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) assessed that Indonesia is not on the verge of recession because its economic growth reached 5.72% in the third quarter of 2022. Workers thus have high expectations about wages.

“With this achievement, KSPI regards that the demand for a 13% wage increase is feasible,” said the KSPI head of the media and communications department, Kahar S. Cahyono, on Wednesday, November 9, 2022.

To fight for the demand, Kahar said his side planned to hold a series of rallies until November 21, 2022—when governors announced the 2023 provincial minimum wage or UMP. The act will kick-start on November 10, 2022, in Jakarta, East Java, and Sulawesi.

It will continue on November 11 in West Java, Banten, and Kalimantan and on November 14 in Central Java, Yogyakarta, Sumatra, and eastern Indonesia.

Additionally, from November 15 to 18, the rally will be held simultaneously in all governor's offices throughout the archipelago.

“If our demands are not fulfilled, we are preparing for a national strike in December,” Kahar underlined.

Previously, Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah ensured that the 2023 minimum wage will be higher than the 2022 minimum wage, which is adjusted with data on economic growth and inflation.

Statistics Indonesia (BPS) announced that the country's economic growth in the third quarter this year grew by 5.72 percent. Meanwhile, the inflation rate was recorded at 5.71 percent year-on-year (yoy) in October 2022.

RIRI RAHAYU

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