Academic: Indonesian labour law must be grounded in workers' realities

Purwokerto (ANTARA) - Petra Mahy, an academic at Melbourne Law School, has assessed that Indonesian labour law must be responsive to actual conditions in society by strengthening empirical research and taking local wisdom into account when drafting regulations.

At The 4th International Conference on Law, Governance and Social Justice (ICOLGAS) 2026, hosted by the Faculty of Law at Universitas Jenderal Soedirman (Unsoed) in Purwokerto, Banyumas Regency, Central Java, on Tuesday, Petra presented empirical research on local wisdom as an approach to supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Regulations need to be drafted based on specific contexts on the ground, through dialogue and the involvement of various parties,” said Petra, who delivered her presentation online.

She said such an approach should prioritise education, collaboration, and community empowerment rather than relying on rigid legal sanctions.

Petra also highlighted the process of labour law reform in Indonesia, particularly the drafting of an employment law bill.

According to her, the existing draft and academic text still lack empirical evidence on the real conditions of the world of work as well as in-depth sociological data.

“Empirical data is essential for understanding how the law actually works in society, especially when formal rules meet practice and local wisdom,” she said.

She said this need has become more pressing because labour law reform is also seeking to resolve various legal inconsistencies following the enactment of the Job Creation Law and a number of Constitutional Court rulings.

Through Decision Number 168/PUU-XXI/2023, the Constitutional Court previously required the lawmakers to enact a new employment law separate from the employment cluster within the Job Creation Law.

The Court set a deadline of at most two years from the date the ruling was read out on 31 October 2024. Consequently, the deadline for enacting a standalone employment law falls on 31 October 2026.

In material concerning the plurality of workplace regulation in Indonesian restaurants, Petra explained that employment relations on the ground are shaped not only by formal labour rules but also by informal norms relating to kinship, religion, and gender.

According to her, when formal law does not fully regulate the reality of employment relations, these alternative norms can become important factors that determine everyday working conditions.

Petra also presented research on labour dispute resolution systems in Southeast Asia, showing that non-litigation mechanisms involve a range of informal actors.

“Workers can seek support from religious figures, traditional leaders, regional and central legislators, and can use demonstrations, social media campaigns, and complaints to state institutions such as the Ombudsman and Komnas HAM,” she said.

According to her, this situation shows that resolving labour issues does not always proceed through formal legal mechanisms.

She stressed that empirical studies on local wisdom are needed to design law enforcement instruments that are more responsive to the motivations and needs of all parties.

“Rich empirical studies on local wisdom can help design law enforcement and dispute resolution processes that reflect actual practices in society,” said Petra.

The hybrid ICOLGAS 2026 conference was attended by more than 200 participants from five countries — Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Australia, and Japan — with 120 papers presented to strengthen research collaboration in the fields of law, governance, and social justice.