City to Recalculate KHL Rate

Jakarta Provincial Government will recalculate the 2014 standard cost of living (KHL) for labors in the capital city. It is conducted because some of the items in KHL calculated before are assessed by the labors not in accordance with current necessities of life. Among the items to be recalculated are clean water needs and fruit consumptions.

The labors asked for some items to be recalculated

Head of Jakarta Manpower and Transmigration Department, Priyono, said that in KHL-setting meeting conducted on Wednesday (10/22), the KHL has not been set yet due to there was no agreement.

“The labors asked for some items to be recalculated,” stated Head of Jakarta Manpower and Transmigration Department, Priyono, at City Hall, Thursday (10/23).

City’s 2014 KHL to Be Determined in the Third Week of October

Whereas, Priyono claimed that his department had done KHL calculation conversion for eight times. The KHL survey itself was conducted since January until September.

“Yes, Mr. Acting Jakarta Governor has instructed about conversion, though we had done it yesterday, including quality improvement,” he told.

According to Priyono, one of the items to be recalculated is clean water. In KHL calculation, Central Statistics Agency (BPS) only gave rate of Rp 9,360 per month for clean water. Yet, the labors requested for Rp 50,000 per month.

“One of the items is water, which quality needs to be improved. The listed thing in KHL calculation is that PAM water was 2,000 liters per month, while the rest was not worth drinking. Currently, the workers also drink bottled water. So, three gallons in a month, or 60 liters, minus 2,000 liters,” he uttered.

Besides clean water, fruits will also be recalculated. This is because the labors questioned whether they would consume oranges and bananas for whole month or not.

“This is actually for quality improvement,” he said.

As for the entertainment item, Priyono added, it has not been discussed and decided yet. However, KHL conversion and recalculation are expected would accelerate the process of the 2015 Jakarta Province Minimum Wage (UMP) determination. Even so, he cannot predict the amount.

“I don’t know the (2015 UMP) amount. It cannot be predicted and must be discussed and detailed,” he asserted.