Page 173 - e-KLIPING KETENAGAKERJAAN 6 OKTOBER 2020

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

The government has pushed the law to make significant adjustments to labor rules and business
licensing processes, all of which have been criticized, as they are regarded as infringing on labor
rights and putting the environment at risk.

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

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 Jokowi’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.

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.

Ahead of Monday’s plenary, social media users expressed their frustrations over the bill by writing
posts with the hashtags #DPRRIKhianatiRakyat (HouseBetraysThePeople),
#BatalkanOmnibusLaw (CancelTheOmnibusLaw) and #MosiTidakPercaya
(VoteOfNoConfidence).

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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