Page 123 - e-KLIPING KETENAGAKERJAAN 5 OKTOBER 2020

"[The bill] has been approved for the next stage of the deliberation" said Baleg chairman
Supratman Andi Agtas during a meeting with members of the government on Sunday, as quoted
by kompas.com.

Supratman said severi House factions had conveyed their ap-proval of the bill during the meeting:
the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Golkar, Gerindra, NasDem, the National
Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the United Development Party
(PPP).

Two other factions Ihe Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) objected to the
bill, he said.

Coordinating Economic Min-ister Airlangga Hartarto, who was present at the meeting, said the
government appreciated the speedy and "transparent" delib-eration of the bill.

He said the bill would improve bureaucratic efficiency and cut unnecessaiy red tape, particularly
in regard to business permits and investments.

Furthermore, he claimed the bill would be beneficial to the country's workers, saying that the
regulation would ensure a, safety net for employees, such as new severance terms in th'e event
oflayoffs.

Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Bahlil Laha-dalia said last month that the
government had been preparing the implementing regulations for the articles in the bill that had
been agreed upon by lawmakers.

The government is trying to revise 79 prevailing laws and more than 1,200 articles with the
omnibus bill. The bill, which is more than 1,000 pages long and contains 174 articles in 15
chapters, has faced backlash from labor unions, observers and NGOs that argue it will jeopardize
labor rights and weaken environmental protection, among other issues.

Labor unions and civil rights groups are set to hold large-scale protests from Tuesday to Thurs-
day in opposition to the bill.

Congress Alliance of Indonesian Labor Unions (KASBI) chair Nining Elitos said, the hasty and
largely "clandestine" deliberation of the bill had ieft the organiza-tion no choice but to voice its
opposition one last time, regardless of the result.

"Without major opposition, to-day*s ruling regime will contiriue to keep its eyes shut to the
suffering of tlie people," Nining said during an online press conference on Sunday, which was
attended by members of labor unions and NGOs affiliat-ed with the Labor with the People
Movement (Gebrak).

Activist Lini Zurlia said the protests throughout next week would take various forms, includ-ing
strikes that would culminate in mass protests in front of the House complex in Senayan, Cen,-
tral Jakarta, and regional admin-istration offices throughout the country on the day of the plenaiy
session.

"Gebrak will mobilize around 20,000 people from Jakarta, Banten and West Java for the strike in
Senayan on Oct. 8/' she said.

"In total, the three-day demon-stration by Gebrak and other regional alliances will involve more
than 100,000 people."

All-Indonesia United Workers Confederation (KPBI) chair Ilhamsyah expressed his dismay that
lawmakers and the government had decided to expedite the deliberation of the bill amid the

122