After seven months of legal battles, the BWI-affiliated Indonesian Forestry and Allied Workers Union (FSP-Kahutindo) secured a ruling from the East Java High State Administrative Court on the union’s demand for a minimum wage settlement for seven districts in the province in 2025.

“In November 2024, the Indonesian Minister of Manpower regulated a minimum wage increase of 6.5 percent to be applied in all provinces and districts for 2025, and on top of that, additional sectoral wages for selected industries. To our dismay, the East Java Governor stipulated only a 5 percent increase for the seven top districts in the province, which is absolutely not acceptable from both legal and good governance perspectives. Others may just be quiet and let it go. We simply could not let the Government hijack 1.5 percent of the rightful wages of over 6.3 million working people,” explained Agus Salim, Kahutindo East Java Regional Chairperson, as the lead plaintiff in the case.

The High State Administrative Court ruling issued on 7 August 2025 reinforced the Surabaya State Administrative Court ruling on 28 May 2025 and legally instructed the East Java Governor to revise its Minimum Wage Decree for the Districts of Surabaya, Gresik, Sidoarjo, Mojokerto, Pasuruan, and Malang, by applying a 6.5% instead of 5% increase.

Ambet Yuson, BWI General Secretary, applauded the court decisions. “There are over 500 construction materials and wood-based manufacturing industries in the province. It is imperative that the rights of workers are properly enforced, not compromised. Kahutindo has always been consistent in fighting for the workers’ decent livelihood, including through the minimum wages settlement. The verdicts of two-level state administrative courts in favor of the union are a clear and convincing justification that the Governor must immediately correct its decision.”