Deputy Manpower Minister Reacts to Workers' Demand for Wage Hike
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27 July 2023 22:06 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Deputy Manpower Minister, Afriansyah Noor, responded to the demand for a 15-percent raise in the 2024 minimum wage voiced by the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) and the Labor Party.
“It's actually legal for them to demand a raise of 15 percent,” Afriansyah told Tempo on Thursday, July 27, 2023.
He said workers have the right to make such demands. “However, everything must be adjusted to the company's economic growth,” he added.
Afriansyah explained that the 2024 minimum wage will be determined later around September to November 2023. The Manpower Ministry is collecting the aspirations of both employers and workers to make the decision.
“The government must act fairly in order to maintain a good economy,” he underlined.
KSPI President Said Iqbal said the salary hike is one of the demands delivered during the demonstration on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. He outlined that workers’ low wage has been cut by 25 percent through the Manpower Minister’s Regulation (Permenaker) No. 5 of 2023 and that for three consecutive years, the wage has not been increased plus inadequate social insurance.
In Indonesia, he said, wage subsidies are only granted for three to six months. Meanwhile, in Europe, financial assistance is distributed so long as the economy remains weak and its growth is still vulnerable.
“Therefore, purchasing power must be increased. When purchasing power rises, consumption will rise,” Iqbal said during the Wednesday protest, adding that the hike in the minimum wage would boost purchasing power, benefiting the country. “This is very simple economics.”
AMELIA RAHIMA SARI | MOH KHORY ALFARIZI
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