Dwi Kurniawati (41), a female worker in Surabaya, East Java was thrown into prison after asking about the district/city minimum wage (UMK) at her place of work.

This was revealed when the Public Prosecutor from the Surabaya District Prosecutor's Office, Darwis read out the indictment against Dwi Kurniawati, in the Candra room of the Surabaya District Court, Thursday (21/3/2024).

The indictment states that the worker from Sumber Wulut, Surabaya falsified work experience letters so he could work as accounting staff at PT Mentari Nawa Satria or what is known as the Kowloon Palace International Club.

Dwi Kurniawati has been detained at the Medaeng Detention Center since March 5 2024. Dwi's case is in the spotlight and this 41 year old mother received assistance from the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Advocacy Team for State Child Care Workers (Tabur Pari).

In LBH's view, Dwi is a victim who does not receive employment rights. Then the company again made Dwi a victim by reporting him to the Genteng Surabaya Police.

Achmad Roni, one of the lawyers from LBH, explained that initially Dwi worked as an accountant at PT Mentari Nawa Satria or better known as Kowloo Discotheque.

Dwi was initially contracted to work for 6 months, and served for 3 months. The first month Dwi received a salary of IDR 1.2 million, the second month IDR 1.5 million, and the third month IDR 2.3 million.

"In addition to her salary being below the UMK, Ms. Dwi was also not registered with BPJS and her birth certificate was withheld. Starting from there, she complained to the Surabaya City Manpower Office and was directed to direct the criminal rights dispute case to the East Java Provincial Manpower Office. So, because there was no follow-up, Dwi reported it to East Java Regional Police," he said.

The police apparently stopped the case. However, suddenly Dwi was reported to the Genteng Police.

"The person who reported the employee was named Eko Purnomo. He was not a shareholder and reported the name of the company representative. Strangely enough, before the suspect was summoned, the statement of representing the company was omitted. The report was in Eko's personal name," said Roni.

Roni and his friends think that this case cannot be separated, because Dwi Kurniawati is fighting for the right to receive wages according to the UMK.

"In short, there was criminalization, Mrs. Dwi went to jail after asking about UMK," he explained.

Tribunjatim has attempted to confirm PT Mentari Nawa Satria by contacting the contact number listed on the Kowloon Instagram account.

Initially the telephone was answered, however, when asked about the case there was no response.