TEMPO.CO, Surabaya - The seemingly unresolvable dispute over the regency/city minimum wage (UMK) vexes the Head of the East Java Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), Alim Markus. “I’m nauseous, I get headaches [thinking of UMK],” Alim said during ‘Respondents Gathering 2013 at Bank Indonesia’s Representative Office for Area IV in East Java’ in Surabaya, Monday, December 9, 2013.

According to Alim, only in Indonesia does the city minimum wage become an annual problem. To make matters worse, it turns out that wages in Surabaya are set above Jakarta’s inflation rate. “This is ridiculous. We are in trouble. Indonesia is the only country that fusses with the UMK,” he said.

Alim questioned the East Java Governor Regulation Number 78 Year 2013. The President Director of Maspion Group compared it with Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo’s decree. If the minimum wage in Jakarta increased by 10 percent with inflation already accounted for, then he would consider the minimum wage of Rp2.2 million in Surabaya too high.

Therefore, he asked for the minimum wage formulation to be changed, at least into something similar to the one used during President Gus Dur’s era. At that time, the minimum wage was set by the central government through the Ministry of Manpower.

PT Maspion itself, Alim said, is considering to relocate a few of its factories to Ngawi and Madiun, where labor is cheaper. Investment for factory relocation is estimated to reach Rp100-200 million. He is currently looking for an industrial land 20-hectares wide to relocate a number of divisions to a location with highway access. “If there is land available (in Madiun and Ngawi), please make an offer to Alim Markus,” he said.

AGITA SUKMA LISTYANTI