Labor Will Be Large On Wednesday Next Week, 2023 Minimum Wage Up 13 Percent

Illustration of a labor demonstration. (Antara-Aprilio A)

JAKARTA - A group of workers who are members of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) will hold a massive demonstration on Wednesday, October 12, 2022. One of the demands that was voiced was the increase in the minimum wage in 2023 by 13 percent.

KSPI President Said Iqbal said this demonstration would be held in all provinces in Indonesia. The main action will be centered in the State Palace area and is claimed to involve 50 thousand workers.

"Especially for the provinces of West Java, DKI Jakarta, and Banten, the action will be centered at the Palace by involving 50 thousand workers. Meanwhile, in 31 other provinces, actions will be carried out at the governor's offices of each province," Said Iqbal said in his statement, Sunday, October 9.

Said Iqbal explained the reason his party demanded a fairly high wage increase next year. Based on the results of internal research, KSPI predicts inflation next year will reach 7 to 8 percent.

Meanwhile, economic growth rose in the range of 4.8 percent. Therefore, Said Iqbal said, a 13 percent wage increase is calculated to cover rising inflation in the fields of food, housing, and high transportation.

We take a 7 percent figure for inflation and economic growth, say 4.8 percent. That number is a total of 11.8 percent. This should be the basis for wage increases. The rounding requested is an increase in wages of 13 percent," he explained.

Furthermore, Said Iqbal said that currently people's purchasing power has decreased due to soaring basic needs prices, along with rising fuel prices.

Then, in the midst of soaring prices, workers' wages are threatened not to increase because they are still using the derivative rules of the Job Creation Law, namely PP No. 36 of 2021.

Where this regulation recognizes the upper and lower limits, so that many districts/cities have the potential for a minimum wage to not experience an increase.

The inflation felt for the workers was 3 components. First, the food group, the inflation penetrated 5 percent. Second, transportation rose 20-25 percent. And the third category is the house group, where the house rental rose 10-12.5 percent. This inflation in these 3 groups is the burden on the purchasing power of workers and small communities due to the increase in fuel prices," explained Said Iqbal.

Therefore, in addition to demanding a wage increase, the labor group will also voice its rejection of the increase in fuel prices, reject the Omnibus Law, reject the threat of PHM in the midst of a global recession, agrarian reform, and ratify the Draft Law on the Protection of Domestic Workers.