Indonesia hit with mass strike over wage hike demands

Agence France Presse - October 31, 2013

Arlina Arshad, Jakarta — Tens of thousands of workers went on strike across Indonesia Thursday, in the latest industrial action to hit Southeast Asia’s top economy as its citizens seek a greater share of the spoils from stellar growth.

Unions are calling for hefty pay rises as the cost of living skyrockets due to surging inflation, which has been driven up in recent months by an unpopular fuel price hike.

Factories producing everything from clothes to electronics, often for international companies, stopped operations as workers across the country downed tools on day one of a two-day strike. Union leaders said that two million took part in the action across the archipelago.

Their figures are usually higher than those given by the police, who said
around 60,000 had walked out in the capital and surrounding districts and
there were also small strikes and demonstrations in other parts of the
country.

Security was tight with more than 17,000 police mobilised in Jakarta and
surrounding areas.

Thousands of workers in uniform marched past deserted factories in Pulogadung industrial estate in East Jakarta, led by a truck with people shouting from loudspeakers. Hundreds of strikers rode motorcycles, waved banners and shouted: “Long live the workers” and “Raise our pay”.

“I am not asking to live in a castle or sleep on a bed of gold, just for what we deserve from working so hard to contribute to the economy,” said Achmad, 46, a welder who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

The protests were largely peaceful although police said that some windows were smashed and motorbikes pushed over in the industrial hub of Bekasi, just outside Jakarta.

Elsewhere, police said around 5,000 took part in the strike in Surabaya in
East Java province, and 1,000 downed tools in Makassar on the central island of Sulawesi.

TV pictures also showed crowds striking in the industrial hub of Batam island, near Singapore, although police did not have an estimate of the numbers involved.

“All factories in Java’s industrial hubs have stopped,” said Said Iqbal, chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union, adding that the strike would affect 20 of the nation’s 34 provinces.

With inflation hitting 8.4 percent year-on-year in September, Iqbal said ordinary people were deeply concerned over the rising cost of living.

“Many workers who could not afford their rents have had to move out of their homes and live under bridges and in sewers. They are eating instant noodles instead of rice.”

Workers say they have been hard hit by the government’s decision in June to raise petrol prices by 44 percent and diesel by 22 percent, a move aimed at reducing subsidies that were gobbling up the state budget.

Workers are demanding “just a decent pay raise to compensate for inflation”, said Iqbal, adding: “We labourers have contributed so much to the economy, why are we trampled upon?”

Strikes and protests by Indonesian workers have been on the rise as they demand higher wages at a time when the economy is booming, clocking up average annual growth of above six percent in recent years.

Industrial action typical heats up in October and November as local governments decide on minimum wages for the following year in their areas.

Workers in Jakarta this year received a 44 percent increase in minimum salaries to 2.2 million rupiah ($200) a month, and others across the country have also received sizeable raises.

Jakarta is due to decide on its new minimum wage between November 1 and 20, according to Iqbal, who said unions were calling for it to be hiked to 3.7 million rupiah.

However employers have expressed concerns that big rises are denting profits and could lead foreign investors to take their business to neighbouring countries.

The government has also raised concerns about soaring wages, particularly at a time when growth is slowing, and there has been recent economic turbulence due to fears that the US may reduce its stimulus programme. Nevertheless, Indonesian factory workers remain some of the lowest-paid in Asia, often earning less than their counterparts in China or India.

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 Workers clash with youth organization during strike

Jakarta Post - October 31, 2013

Jakarta — A clash between striking workers and members of the Pemuda
Pancasila (PP) youth organization has broken out in front of the PT Schneider
factory in the Cikarang industrial area, West Java.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said that the clash happened when the workers rejected PP members’ demands to end the strike.

“They [PP members] said that the workers’ aspiration for a monthly wage of Rp 3.7 million [US$333] was irrational and that it would cause huge lay-offs. As a result, they would also lose their livelihoods from recycling factory waste or selling food to workers,” Rikwanto said on Thursday.

He said that eight people — four factory workers and four security guards- were injured in the clash. “One of them was stabbed. He is currently undergoing treatment,” he said.

Rikwanto said that according to police estimates, there were at least 15,000 strikers and 5,000 PP members. “Fortunately, we have successfully prevented the clash from spreading to other areas,” he said. He added that the police had deployed 17,276 personnel across the Greater Jakarta area, 4,000 of whom were deployed to the Bekasi and Cikarang areas. (koi)

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 Batam strikes paralyze industry

Jakarta Post - October 31, 2013

Fadli, Batam — Approximately 1,000 foreign investment companies across 26 industrial estates in Batam shut down almost all their operations on Thursday as workers joined the nationwide strike.

Several industrial estates dispatched members of a mass youth organization in front of their entrance gates to drive away protesters and prevent them from forcing other workers to join the strike action.

A number of people affiliated with the Pemuda Pancasila (PP) youth organization guarded the main entrance of the Tunas Industrial Estate and closed road access into the industrial complex. Meanwhile, hundreds of workers wearing black jackets belonging to the Indonesian Metal Workers Federation (FSPMI) shouted workers’ rights slogans in front of the compound.

Similar scenes were witnessed at virtually all the industrial estates, which
are home to around 1,000 foreign companies investing in Batam.

At Executive Park industrial complex, dozens of workers tried to demolish the entry gate, causing it to become dislodged from the wall.

Yudi Karya, a worker at the Siemens fabrication yard in Batam, said he and his colleagues were given an official day’s holiday on Thursday in exchange for not joining the strike, which would affect the company’s operations. “We are afraid to go to work. We are worried that we will become targets in our work uniforms. Something could also happen if we refuse to join the national strike, so we were given a vacation,” he said.

An attempt by some protesters to blockade Batam’s Hang Nadim International Airport and several ports failed as hundreds of Barelang Police personnel stood guard around the airport. (ebf)

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 Workers skip wage talk for street rally

Jakarta Post - October 31, 2013

Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta — A meeting of the Jakarta Wage Council scheduled for Wednesday to negotiate a minimum wage increase for 2014 was canceled because workers’ representatives refused to participate, opting instead to lead a demonstration in front of City Hall.

In the latest fight over the minimum wage, council workers’ representative
Akhmad Jazuli said that workers were demanding that the official basic cost of living be set at Rp 2.7 million (US$243).

Meanwhile, the council had proposed the benchmark be set at Rp 2.29 million, based on 60 standard of living components (KHL) stipulated in Presidential Instruction No.9/2013 on the provincial minimum wage.

The council’s proposal was supposed to be discussed further by workers associations and business players at the canceled meeting. “We refuse to attend the meeting today,” Jazuli said on Wednesday at City Hall.

He said that their boycott of the meeting was aimed at preventing the city
administration from determining the minimum wage. “If they make a decision, it will be unlawful,” he added.

The wage council member representing businesses, Asril Chaniago, said that they had to decide on the minimum wage by Nov. 1.

“On that date the governor will have the final say. Last year, it was the representatives from businesses who skipped the meetings and the governor set the minimum wage at Rp 2.2 million despite objections from the businesses,” he added.

Jakarta Manpower and Transmigration Agency head Priyono said the workers’ demands were irrational. “We can’t grant their demand to add the number of items in the KHL to 84 from 60. It has been regulated in Manpower and Transportation Ministerial Regulation No. 13/2013,” he said.

Priyono added the workers should address their demands to the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry instead of to the city administration.

Previously, the workers said that if the government would set the basic cost of living at Rp 2.7 million as they had proposed, then a nationwide strike set to take place from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 could be avoided.

On Tuesday, the protesters asked Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to meet and discuss the workers’ demand for a minimum wage increase or else, Jazuli said, they would stay at City Hall until the governor granted them a meeting. The protesters, however, left City Hall in the afternoon.

The governor has signaled he will not meet the workers as demanded. “I’m not going to have a pointless discussion with the workers. I will only consider once the remuneration council proposes the figures. If the figures are rational then I will make my decision,” he told reporters.

He added that the workers should also consider the current economic condition before putting forward their demands. If the workers and employers had a good relationship, they could settle this issue internally, he said.

Jokowi pointed out that the central government should take action to prevent such events from recurring every year. “There should be a law on remuneration so this kind of thing doesn’t happen every year. The law may regulate a minimum wage based on the business sector or region,” Jokowi said.

Earlier, Winarso of the Indonesian Metal Workers Federation (FSPMI) said his
federation would join the nationwide strike unless the Jakarta administration
increased the provincial minimum wage by 50 percent.

Hundreds of workers joined the rally in front of City Hall, occupying a lane on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan and stopping up traffic around the area and forcing the Transjakarta bus corridor 2 route serving Harmoni-Pulogadung to be shortened.

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 Cikarang factory production brought to virtual standstill

Jakarta Post - October 31, 2013

Rangga Fadilah, Cikarang — Factories on the MM2100 industrial estate in West Cikarang, Bekasi, had their production severely disrupted on Thursday due to the ongoing nationwide workers’ strike.

“Today, most of the workers at this company stopped working. Only a few of us worked to ensure that vital machinery was kept running,” said Nasan Indra Wijaya, a union member who works at home appliance maker PT Maspion.

He acknowledged that due to the strike, the company would suffer a loss of around 70 percent in production. However, he said he was unsure whether the strike action would continue until Friday.

The streets of the industrial estate were packed on Thursday with thousands of workers, many of them wearing the black jackets of the Indonesian Metal Workers Federation (FSPMI).

Bahruddin, a union member who works for PT Suzuki Indomobil, claimed that all the workers from the company’s three largest production plants in Cakung, East Jakarta, and Tambun, Bekasi, had joined the strike.

"For today, all Suzuki workers have stopped working. We’re still waiting for
instructions from the FSPMI about tomorrow. If there is an instruction to continue the strike, we’ll obey it," he said. (dic)

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 Workers visit factories ahead of general strike

Jakarta Post - October 31, 2013

Andi Hajramurni and Fadli, Makassar — Ahead of the two-day nationwide strike on Thursday, dozens of workers in Makassar, South Sulawesi visited factories at the Makassar Industrial Estate (Kima) on Wednesday.

The workers not only disseminated plans on the strike but also requested that each factory and company send representatives to participate in the strike.

The representatives are expected to recruit their fellow workers to join the nationwide strike and stage a rally to demand increased minimum wages and the dissolution of a contract system for workers. Workers also distributed flyers listing their demands at the companies they visited.

“Tomorrow [Thursday] is the peak of our action. The workers in Makassar will take part in the strike to fight for proper wages for workers,” said Eros from the Confederation of Indonesian Labor Union Struggle (KSPBI).

He said based on the confederation’s assessment, the minimum wage for 2014 should be increased by 50 percent as the price of basic goods had skyrocketed after the government hiked fuel prices.

Eros said the minimum wage for South Sulawesi should be Rp 2.1 million (US$187.91) and for Makassar at least would be Rp 2.2 million ($195,8) per
month. “Those are the minimum standards while it should be even higher for a proper living,” he said.

After conducting their activities, the workers returned to their duties while the operations of companies inside Kima were not affected.

The workers are scheduled to stage rallies in three places: Under the Makassar flyover, in front of the South Sulawesi governor’s office and in front of the South Sulawesi Legislative Council (DPRD). The authorities are preparing at least 3,000 policemen and soldiers to safeguard the strike.

In Batam, Riau Islands, a number of factories were forced to stop operations on Tuesday as their workers took part in rallies.

The Riau Islands chapter of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) said the losses reached some $20 million per day with acting chairwoman Nada Faza Soraya expecting there would be no strikes.

“The figure is for the real calculation, such as the loss of time for production according to factory capacity,” she said. “A factory making 70 percent of the world’s contact lenses stopped its operations. We can imagine the losses.”

More losses will be suffered if more companies are affected by the planned strikes on Thursday. “We hope the labor unions cancel their plans for a strike because it will greatly affect the export-oriented companies in Batam,” she said. Workers in Batam demanded a minimum wage of Rp 3.4 million for 2014.

Meanwhile, thousands of workers from various trade unions, such as the Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers Union (FPSMI), the All Indonesia Labor Union (SPSI) and the Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union (SBSI) were already split on staging separate rallies in Batam.

Batam chapter SPSI head Saiful Badri claimed the model of struggle between the organizations was different, with his group wanting unions to fight for their aspirations in a polite manner.

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 Bogor, Depok workers strike for better pay

Jakarta Post - October 31, 2013

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Theresia Sufa, Depok — Workers in Bogor and Depok held rallies at several locations, resulting in traffic congestion in many areas.

They demanded that the minimum wage be increased to Rp 3.7 million per month starting next year and that outsourcing be eliminated.

More than 50,000 workers in both cities rallied. In Bogor, workers rejected the Bogor regent’s proposed minimum monthly wage of Rp 1.7 million, saying that it was far from enough to meet daily needs. In Depok, workers blocked Jl. Raya Bogor for about an hour and spent the day listening to speeches by rally coordinators.

All-Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI) Depok chairman Sugino said the fuel price increase had forced workers to demand the salary adjustment. “This year alone we have experience fuel and electricity price hikes. We are only just surviving,” he said. (dic)

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 Jambi workers reject new minimum wage

Jakarta Post - October 31, 2013

Jon Afrizal, Jambi — A decree by Jambi Governor Hasan Basri Agus, which sets the province’s 2014 minimum wage at Rp 1,502,230 (US$133.7) has drawn protests from the provincial branch of the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Confederation (KSBI).

The confederation is urging the Jambi governor to review the decree and increase the province’s minimum wage to Rp 1.6 million. According to the KSBI, the newly set minimum wage does not reflect workers’ basic cost of living (KHL).

“A minimum wage of Rp 1.6 million must be introduced because our KHL value is set at Rp 1.6 million,” KSBI Jambi regional coordinator Roida Pane said on Thursday.

Roida said the KSBI had proposed a minimum wage of Rp 1.6 million in a meeting held by the Jambi Renumeration Board to determine the province’s 2014 minimum wage. However, both the local administration and the business sector have rejected the workers’ demand.

Roida said the Jambi governor had been too arrogant and was in too great a
hurry to decide the new minimum wage, which will be announced on Nov. 1. “The decision has caused distress among the workers. They are being used as a political object, although they had been united in supporting his [Hasan’s] nomination for governor,” Roida said.

Separately, Hasan promised to review the workers’ demand. He asserted that the wage decision was made following several discussions with the Jambi Renumeration Board, which consists of representatives from workers’ associations, the business sector and independent teams.

Hasan said the Jambi administration had checked the minimum wages in several provinces on Sumatra before drafting the decree. He added that, in fact, Jambi’s minimum wage was higher than those in Bangka-Belitung and Bengkulu.

"In determining the minimum wage, we not only need to consider the interests of the workers but also businesspeople who employ the workers. We don’t want to see their businesses fail, resulting in workers being laid off because of an overly high minimum-wage increase.

Jambi’s Social Affairs and Manpower Agency head, Harris AB, said the minimum wage of Rp 1,502,230 per month would come into effect on Jan. 1, 2014. (ebf)

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 Minimum wage hike will not affect inflation

Jakarta Post - October 31, 2013

Jakarta — Deputy Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro says that an increase in the provincial minimum wage will not affect inflation in 2014. Bambang said that inflation in 2014 would remain at 5.5 percent regardless of the hike.

Bambang added that inflation would only rise due to two factors — administered price policies, such as the ones regarding subsidized fuel and logistics prices. “We can still manage inflation if those two factors remain unaffected,” Bambang said as quoted by Kontan.co.id.

Bambang said that raising the provincial minimum wage would in fact contribute positively to the economy as it would boost consumption.

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 Papua’s 2014 minimum wage set at Rp 1.9 million

Jakarta Post - October 31, 2013

Papua Governor Lukas Enembe has set the province’s 2014 monthly minimum wage at Rp 1.9 million (US$169.10), up from the current minimum wage of Rp 1.75 million. “It has been signed, Rp 1.9 million or up by around Rp 200,000,” said Lukas in Jayapura on Thursday.

Although it had signed a decree on the new provincial minimum wage, Lukas said the Papua administration would make a study of minimum wages again because the current real value was too little compared to the prices of basic items in Papua.

“If the minimum wage is still perceived as too low, we will review it again because the cost of living in Papua is very high. Ideally, Papua’s minimum wage should be above Rp 2 million per month,” said Lukas.

“We have to spend Rp 750,000 to rent a room in a boarding house, transportation is Rp 500,000, and food costs another Rp 500,000. We have no money left over to save,” said Wati a worker in a private company in Jayapura.

To overcome the shortfall, it is commonplace for a worker in Jayapura to share a room with one or two co-workers. Wati said Papua’s minimum wage should be set at Rp 2.5 million per month. (ebf)

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