The new job law in Indonesia has been ruled unlawful by a high court in the country

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

 

The country's top court declared on Thursday that the country's widely criticised Job Creation Law is unconstitutional and that the administration must alter it within two years.

The law, which was passed last year, sparked days of violent protests in numerous towns, with thousands of outraged students and workers alleging that it would stifle labour rights and harm the environment.

As part of President Joko Widodo's efforts to attract more investment, the legislation revised 77 prior laws with the goal of improving bureaucratic efficiency.

 

The petitioners — a private firm employee, four students, and the Confederation of Indonesian Workers' Unions, or KSPI — won 5 to 4 in the Constitutional Court, arguing that the manner the legislation was handled was procedurally faulty.

The court agreed, stating that the procedure was not fully transparent and that it was unclear whether the combining of the previous statutes represented a reform or a new law.

 

The court ordered the suspension of any wide strategic initiatives or the issue of new rules related to the statute until the adjustments are completed within two years.

The legislation will be ruled "permanently unlawful" if the revisions are not made within two years, according to Chief Justice Anwar Usman, and "laws or articles that were already cancelled or amended by the Job Creation Law must be restored."

 

Said Iqbal, the president of the KSPI, applauded the decision and stated that his party is willing to engage in the amendment of the law to ensure that it does not limit workers' essential rights.

According to him, the existing law harms workers by lowering severance compensation, lifting limits on foreign workers performing physical labour, expanding outsourcing, and turning monthly salary to hourly earnings.

The administration, according to Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, supports the Constitutional Court's judgement.