Garbage drivers to get back pay

The Jakarta Post
City News - April 21, 2007

JAKARTA: The city administration is ready to pay long-delayed wages to garbage truck drivers working as contractors for the city's sanitation agency.

Jakarta Sanitation Agency head Eko Bharuna said Friday his office had obtained money last week to pay the wages.

"We will make the payment as soon as possible," he said.

The agency currently has around 9,000 employees, 3,000 of whom are contract workers.

The truck driver contractors have not received their wages for more than three months. Their wage is Rp 29,608 (US$3.25) per day.

Eko said fees also depended on the drivers' workload and the volume of garbage.

"The payment is in accordance with the minimum wage of Jakarta this year."

The minimum wage for the capital is Rp 900,560 per month.

Many drivers complained of having to pay a levy at the Bantar Gebang dump in Bekasi every time they dropped off garbage.

"It's Rp 3,000 for small trucks and Rp 5,000 for the big ones," one driver said.

Eko acknowledged reports of unauthorized fees collected on the trucks' way to the dump and said he had reported the issue to the Bekasi municipal administration. -- JP