Government convinced Job Creation Law will boost public welfare by Fardah

Jakarta Nov 7, 2020 (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) finally signed the Job Creation Bill on November 2, 2020, officially making it Law Number 11 of 2020 on Job Creation that spans 1,187 pages and 15 chapters.

"Alhamdulillah, I profusely thank all Indonesian people and Allah SWT," Presidential spokesman Fadjroel Rachman stated after the signing.

Rachman affirmed that the Job Creation Law was for all Indonesians and the future of onward Indonesia.

The country's first omnibus law covers areas, including on improvement of the investment ecosystem and business activities; employment; protection and empowerment of cooperatives and UMKM; ease of doing business; national fiscal policy; and research and innovation support.

Widodo proposed the bill after being re-elected as Indonesia's president for the 2019-2024 term. At his swearing-in ceremony on October 20, 2019, the president had urged the Parliament to complete deliberations on the omnibus law within 100 days.

The government completed the draft of the omnibus bill on February 12, 2020. On October 5, 2020, the House of Representatives (DPR) had endorsed the Bill on Job Creation following deliberations since April 2, 2020.

The government claimed that all stakeholders in the country were involved in the drafting of the bill, including the Manpower Ministry, experts, businessmen, and labor union representatives.

However, following its Parliamentary approval, the law was rejected by several labor unions, activists, and university lecturers, who opined that it would be detrimental to the interests of workers and endanger the environment.

The president blamed disinformation and social media hoaxes for the widespread opposition to the Job Creation Law.

Political turmoil amid COVID-19, economic recession can add to burden by Fardah

Jakarta, Oct 13, 2020 (ANTARA) - Indonesia has been struggling hard to survive the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and its major impacts, notably the economic recession.

The country’s tally of confirmed cases reached 336,716, total recoveries at 258,519, and death toll at 11,935. It was ranked 21^st on the Worldometer’s COVID-19 list of over 200 countries on Oct 13, 2020.

The country saw an economic contraction of 5.32 percent in the second quarter of 2020. Several million Indonesians became jobless owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The nation had to face another burden caused by a political turmoil marked by major rallies on Oct 6-8 and Oct 13, in several cities following the House of Representatives’ (DPR’s) decision to endorse the government-proposed Job Creation Law on Oct 5, 2020.

The government affirmed that every stakeholder, including the representatives of employers, trade unions, academicians, and experts, were involved in drafting the Job Creation Law, Indonesia’s first omnibus law comprising 79 laws. The draft law was also introduced to the public, it stated.

On Oct 9, President Joko Widodo had highlighted numerous benefits of the law intended to boost domestic and foreign investment and create job opportunities for Indonesian workers. The law aims to protect the interests of Indonesian workers and the environment as well as boost the economy.

However, trade unions, students, several university lecturers, and activists hold diverse opinions, as they harbor concerns over the law benefiting companies rather than workers, as it would encourage outsourcing the employment system, allow foreign blue-collar workers to work in Indonesia, and endanger the environment.

Exchange of words continue unabated via mainstream and social media, but no solution lies in sight, as some people, including legislators, affirmed that work was still ongoing on the final draft of the law. When the Parliament endorsed the law, hard copies of the final draft were not distributed to the attending MPs.

"No, (we did not receive hard copies of the final draft). It is not yet completed, but it is already endorsed. What is being endorsed is a ghost bill," Benny Kabur Harman, the Democratic Party legislator, who decided to walk out while the endorsement was ongoing, stated.

Omnibus law protests highlight need for dialogue by Fardah

 Jakarta, Oct 10 , 2020 (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo’s goal of getting Indonesia’s first ever omnibus bill passed into law has finally been realized after six months of deliberations.

On October 5, 2020, the House of Representatives (DPR) endorsed the proposed legislation, which comprises 79 laws and spans 905 pages.

Six political parties — PDIP, Golkar, PKB, NasDem, PPP, and Gerindra — firmly endorsed the omnibus bill; the National Mandate Party (PAN) endorsed it, but with some notes; while, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the Democratic Party (PD) opposed the bill.

The bill was proposed by Widodo after he was re-elected as Indonesia's President for the 2019-2024 term. At his swearing-in ceremony on October 20, 2019, Jokowi had asked the Parliament to complete deliberations on the omnibus law within 100 days.

The government completed the draft omnibus bill on February 12, 2020, and the Parliament began discussing it on April 2, 2020.

The government has claimed that all stakeholders in the country were involved in the drafting of the bill, including the Manpower Ministry, experts, businessmen, and labor union representatives. And, it was widely publicized among the public, both the government and the DPR have claimed.

However, following its Parliamentary approval, the law has been rejected by many labor unions, activists, and university lecturers, who have said it would harm workers’ interests and endanger the environment.

Their opposition centers on certain fundamental issues covered by the law, which, they feel, would be disadvantageous to workers. The issues pertain to reducing severance pay, implementing a contract and outsourcing system, setting minimum wages, and the potential loss of health insurance and pensions for workers owing to the implementation of contract-based employment and outsourcing, among other things.

“Our concerns are that the omnibus bill will hurt labor. Because some of the regulations will allow foreign unskilled workers (to be employed), it will be a massive use of outsourcing, flexible working hours, and a change in payroll scheme from monthly to hourly,” chairman of the Indonesian Trade Union Confederation (KSPI), Said Iqbal, noted in a statement.

Starting October 6, 2020, labor unions had called for a nationwide strike and rallies in several Indonesian cities. University students, vocational students, activists, and other elements also joined the rallies.

On October 8, 2020, the third consecutive day of protests, the rallies took a violent turn, leading to several protesters and policemen getting injured, and 18 bus stops and one MRT station suffering damage downtown of Jakarta.