Barely Surviving
Laborers never earn more than just enough to live on. Today, when their hope of getting a wage increase has not even been realized, prices have moved upwards much faster, leaving them gasping for breath. Employers, too, gasp for breath if the wages are increased.
January 15, 2002
The new Provincial Minimum Wage (UMP), that's our lifeline." The sentence poured smoothly out of Sukarni's mouth. The 26-year-old worker at PT Winner Cengkareng claims that nothing is left of her salary. Nearly all of the Rp425,250 that she receives is spent on food, rent, and potable water. Face powder and lipstick must be used sparingly because she can only afford to buy them once every six months. The most valuable item in her rented roo
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