Page 1006 - e-KLIPING KETENAGAKERJAAN 7 OKTOBER 2020

The Job Creation Law, which is one of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's key priorities in his
second and final term, is expected to improve bureaucratic efficiency and cut red tape,
particularly in regard to business permits and investment.

The government's expectation has pushed the law to make significant adjustments to labor rules
and business licensing processes, all of which have been criticized, as they are considered to
infringe on labor rights and put the environment at risk.

Until the moment of its passage, the law met mounting resistance from labor unions and
environmentalists as well as rejection from House factions of the Democratic Party and the
Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

Police stop labor unions from protesting newly passed omnibus bill on jobs In a plenary session
on Monday, led by Deputy House Speaker Azis Syamsuddin of the Golkar Party, House Legislation
Body (Baleg) chairman Supratman Andi Agtas said the deliberation of the bill had taken place
from April 20 to Oct. 3, adding that lawmakers and the government had been holding meetings,
even on weekends, to expedite the deliberation.

"The deliberation was careful enough until the end. All factions paid attention to workers' rights
in the decision-making process," the Gerindra Party politician said.

A number of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's Cabinet members were present during the
plenary, including Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto, Finance Minister Sri
Mulyani Indrawati, Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah, Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna
Laoly and Home Minister Tito Karnavian.

Airlangga said the law was necessary as the country needed to increase employment and improve
the business climate following the pandemic.

"We are now working to handle COVID-19, which has had a significant impact on the global and
national economy. There were 43,600 regulations that needed to be sorted out before the
pandemic and our competitiveness is also lagging behind in ASEAN," Airlangga, who is also the
Golkar Party chairman, said.

The law is also seen as necessary by the government since the country's economy shrank 5.32
percent in the second quarter this year, and is widely expected to record the first economic
contraction since the 1998 Asian financial crisis this year.

Indonesia's annual GDP set to contract for first time since 1998 Seven House factions have
conveyed their approval of the bill, which is one of Airlangga's flagship programs, namely the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Golkar, Gerindra, the NasDem Party, the
National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the United Development
Party (PPP).

Labor groups on the same day held protests against the bill in several locations as the police
prevented them from holding a mass rally in front of the House compound in Senayan, Central
Jakarta.

Workers set to strike as House, govt agree on labor cluster in jobs bill Ahead of Monday's
plenary, social media users expressed their frustrations over the bill by writing posts with the
hashtags #DPRRIKhianatiRakyat (House betrays the people), #BatalkanOmnibusLaw (cancel
the omnibus law) and #MosiTidakPercaya (vote of no confidence).

Civil society organizations, grouped in a coalition calling itself the Indonesian People's Faction
(FRI), have also voiced their disappointment, saying the state has turned a blind eye to popular
opposition to the controversial bill, which the FRI believes only accommodates business interests.

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