The government\u2019s continued push for foreign investment must be\naccompanied by compliance with labour law, experts have warned. However,\nvarious issues persist in the implementation of worker protections at\nforeign investment companies (PMA), ranging from the fulfilment of\nsocial security obligations to the enforcement of legally binding court\nrulings.<\/p>\n
Ahmad Ansyori, Chairman II of the Indonesian Association of Labour\nLaw Lecturers and Practitioners (P3HKI), stated that Indonesia indeed\nrequires foreign investment to drive economic growth. Yet, this need\nshould not become a reason to neglect workers\u2019 rights guaranteed by\nlaw.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndonesia, and indeed any country, invites, calls, requests, and\npleads for investment to come in. But how can we ensure they do not only\nsee the financial perspective of investment, then ignore other things\nthat we might call a denial or disregard of legal principles in\nIndonesia,\u201d Ansyori said during a discussion titled \u2018Foreign Investor\nCompliance with Labour Law in Indonesia\u2019 held at Wisma Bisnis Indonesia,\nJakarta, on Tuesday (9\/6).<\/p>\n
He also highlighted the ongoing tolerance of labour norm violations\non the grounds that a company is still in the early stages of\ninvestment. According to Ansyori, the pattern of ignoring workers\u2019\nrights also manifests in unilateral termination of employment, disregard\nfor Collective Labour Agreements (PKB), and the suppression of trade\nunions. He assessed that a recurring pattern exists in several foreign\ninvestment cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would like to call it deliberate, because it is not new, there\nare cases, and there are patterns. But to this day, some major cases,\nlet alone the minor ones, clearly remain unresolved,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
To strengthen investor compliance with labour law, P3HKI proposes\nintroducing a labour compliance requirement for every corporate action.\n\u201cWhy don\u2019t we introduce, for example, a mechanism where if there is to\nbe a corporate action, merger, or acquisition, there is a requirement we\ncall a Certificate of Labor Compliance,\u201d Ansyori explained. According to\nhim, the fulfilment of all labour obligations should be a prerequisite\nbefore a company undertakes a merger, acquisition, or divestment.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Arnando Jujur Pardamean Siregar, Director of Industrial\nRelations Dispute Settlement at the Directorate General of PHI and\nSocial Security at the Ministry of Manpower, stressed that healthy\ninvestment must go hand in hand with worker protection. \u201cWe hope\ninvestment drives economic growth while simultaneously creating jobs\nthat will impact public welfare,\u201d Arnando stated.<\/p>\n
Arnando emphasised that compliance with labour regulations is a\ncrucial part of creating harmonious industrial relations. He noted that\ninvestors also have a responsibility to ensure knowledge transfer to\nIndonesian workers. \u201cKnowledge transfer from foreign workers to local\nworkers. This is what we must jointly emphasise, so that the foreign\nworkers brought in truly possess special expertise and specific skills,\u201d\nArnando elaborated.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Arnando acknowledged that the biggest challenge in\nworker protection remains at the stage of enforcing court rulings.\nAccording to him, the successful execution of rulings is a measure of\nthe authority of law and the state. \u201cIf that succeeds, the law is\nauthoritative, court rulings are authoritative, the state is\nauthoritative,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Public Policy Expert from Trisakti University,\nTrubus Rahardiansah, assessed that the state must be actively present\nwhenever a dispute arises between workers and a foreign company.\nAccording to Trubus, the central and regional governments must\ncollaborate to ensure every legal decision can be executed. \u201cThe central\nand regional governments should collaborate synergistically to execute\nit, to execute that decision,\u201d Trubus stated.<\/p>\n
Trubus also viewed that foreign investment indeed makes a significant\ncontribution to job creation and regional economic growth. However,\nthese benefits must be accompanied by compliance with applicable rules.\nHe cautioned that legal certainty is an important factor in building\npublic trust in the investment climate. Therefore, Trubus believes the\ngovernment needs to reorganise the governance of foreign investment so\nthat compliance with labour regulations can run more effectively.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/foreign-investor-compliance-with-labour-law-remains-under-scrutiny-1781029221", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }