Acting Governor Andi Sudirman Says South Sulawesi UMP Will Not Increase

MAKASSAR - Acting Governor of South Sulawesi, Andi Sudirman Sulaiman, emphasized that the Provincial Minimum Wage (UMP) in 2022 was declared not to increase, because it followed the rules of Government Regulation (PP) number 36 of 2021 concerning Wages.

"From the conclusion, we will continue to follow PP 36 of 2021. Our current UMP in South Sulawesi is Rp. 3,165,876 million," said Andi Sudirman after the meeting to determine the UMP with the Wage Council at the Home Office, Makassar, quoted by Antara, Friday, .

He explained that currently the UMP in South Sulawesi is in accordance with the formula to increase to 3.6 percent or is on the threshold of the national average increase, which is planned to increase by 1.06 percent in 2022.

"We are already ranked the fourth highest national UMP in Indonesia," said the younger brother of former Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman.

However, the formula contained in PP number 36 of 2021, he said, remains a reference in determining the UMP until it is set today.

"Actually, we are going down (UMP), but we are holding on to the current position not to go down. We have set it at that position (current UMP)," said Sudirman.

According to him, what needs to be considered is how entrepreneurs and workers can survive in the midst of the current conditions. One of the efforts made by the Provincial Government is to help in other fields even though the UMP does not increase.

"But remember, we are compensated in other fields, including accommodating free employment, there will be 17,000 in 2022. We also help BLK and trade union partners to develop training and coaching in collaboration with the Manpower Office with subsidies," he said.

Separately, the National Federation of Labor Struggle - the National Union Confederation (FPBN-KSN) of South Sulawesi through the General of the Action Field, Noval, asked the provincial government not to follow the regulation of PP 36 of 2021, because it was considered not in accordance with the economic conditions of their respective regions.

Noval said that the PP was a derivative of the Job Creation Omnibus Law which continued to attract protests and became a polemic, even worsening the economic conditions of the workers and laborers.

"We shouldn't need to follow the PP rules, because the geographical and economic conditions in each region are different. Moreover, the conditions for all the necessities of life continue to rise, not commensurate with wages, in the midst of economic difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

He hoped that the South Sulawesi Provincial Government would review the UMP on their own, without having to follow the PP rules, considering that each region certainly has its own mechanism to see the trend of economic growth.