Jokowi gets final draft of labour Bill from Parliament

A police officer checking detained demonstrators in Jakarta before releasing them after a protest against the Indonesian government's labour reform Bill yesterday.
A police officer checking detained demonstrators in Jakarta before releasing them after a protest against the Indonesian government's labour reform Bill yesterday. PHOTO: REUTERS

The Indonesian Parliament handed over to President Joko Widodo yesterday the final draft of a new labour Bill that has triggered days of violent street protests and vandalism throughout the world's third largest democracy.

Mr Joko may sign the ratified Bill, which simplifies the country's complex legal system to encourage investments, to make it immediately effective. If he does not sign it, the Bill will automatically become effective 30 days after it was passed by Parliament on Oct 5. The government-initiated "omnibus Bill" was first submitted to Parliament in February for deliberation.

While the government said the law would boost foreign investment and revive an economy battered by the coronavirus, union leaders have slammed it as exploitative of workers and harmful to the environment.

Tens of thousands of workers from the textile, energy and automotive industries, among others, poured onto the streets to demand that Mr Joko, often called Jokowi, block the Bill. He did not budge.

At least a dozen cities - from Medan in Sumatra in the west to Makassar in Sulawesi in the east - saw days of protests marked by vandalism which the leaders of major labour unions said were not committed by workers but other groups. They have called off large crowds congregating in Jakarta this week in favour of protests staged in their respective towns.

According to Indonesian law, the president may issue an emergency decree called a perppu (government regulation in lieu of law) to cancel any law. This has been exercised from time to time in an emergency situation.

In 2016, Mr Joko issued a perppu to introduce tougher penalties for child sex offenders, including the death penalty and chemical castration. Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri issued a perppu to accelerate the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the 2002 Bali bombing that killed more than 200.

Several unions are pursuing an alternative legal avenue, filing a petition at the Constitutional Court to challenge the new labour law.

Vigilante group Islamic Defenders' Front took to the streets on Tuesday in protest. It was joined by the 212 Rally Alumni, which was behind a rally in 2016 to prosecute Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama for alleged blasphemy.

Ms Elly Rosita and Mr Said Iqbal, leaders of major unions KSBSI and KSPI, said on Tuesday that they were not carrying out large-scale protests in Jakarta to prevent the vandalism by "other elements".

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 15, 2020, with the headline Jokowi gets final draft of labour Bill from Parliament. Subscribe