Indonesia workers plan protests over emergency regulation on jobs law

JAKARTA — Thousands of Indonesian workers plan to hold protests across the country on Saturday (Jan 14) against an emergency regulation signed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo to replace a controversial jobs law, the Labour Party chairman said on Monday.

Workers will urge parliament to reject the regulation because its contents hurt labour rights, said Mr Said Iqbal.

The president, popularly known as Jokowi, announced the emergency decree last month to replace the 2020 Jobs Creation law that the country's constitutional court had ruled was flawed due to a lack of public consultation.

The Jobs Creation law revised more than 70 other laws and was welcomed by foreign investors for cutting red tape in Southeast Asia's largest economy, but was controversial because of the impact on labour rights and environmental protection.

"After finding out the contents in the emergency regulation, we reject it," Mr Said told a news briefing.

Parliament is expected to vote on whether to make the emergency regulation a permanent law some time after it returns from recess on Tuesday (Jan 10).

Jokowi's coalition controls more than 80 per cent of seats in parliament, so lawmakers are likely to endorse the legislation.

The Labour Party wants minimum wage increases to be determined by economic growth and inflation.

The new regulation calls for an additional "index" to allow for other conditions to be considered, while the original Jobs Creation law ruled wages should take into account growth or inflation.

The Labour Party also wants job outsourcing to be restricted to only five sectors, including cleaning and security.

The regulation currently does not specify the sectors where outsourcing is barred, while the 2020 law had no limitations.

The emergency regulation has faced criticism from activists and legal experts, who argue the president used it to bypass proper parliamentary debate.

Last week, a group of Indonesians lodged a judicial review, arguing Jokowi had violated the Constitutional Court's ruling.

The Indonesian Employers Association has also said having three variables to determine the minimum wage would be complicated and does not want outsourcing to be limited to certain sectors, but based on business needs.

Government officials have promised to issue technical rules that will be acceptable to both workers and employers. REUTERS