DPR Member: Labour Bill Expected to Be Fair, Adaptive, and Participatory

JAKARTA - A member of the Indonesian House of Representatives’ Commission IX, Netty Prasetiyani, has spotlighted the increasingly complex challenges in the world of work. She assessed that workers’ issues now extend beyond wages to include job status certainty, social protection, and the ability to adapt to the dynamic changes in the labour market, including the growth of the digital economy. According to her, the discussion of the Labour Bill must serve as a momentum to rectify longstanding imbalances in the workplace. “This bill must be able to address workers’ aspirations while providing legal certainty for the business world. Workers’ welfare and industrial growth must go hand in hand, not be pitted against each other,” Netty stated in a written remark quoted on Sunday (3/5/2026). Starting from fair wage protection, limiting excessive outsourcing practices, certainty of status for contract workers, strengthening social security, and protection for informal workers and digital platform workers such as online drivers and freelancers. “The state must not be absent in protecting workers. There must be no workers living in uncertainty, whether in the formal or informal sectors,” Netty said. Netty appreciated several steps taken by the government to improve workers’ welfare, such as minimum wage increases, strengthening the Job Loss Guarantee (JKP) programme, expanding vocational training, wage subsidies, and support for labour social security protection. “These programmes form a good initial foundation. However, they need to be strengthened through solid regulations to ensure sustainability and provide long-term certainty for workers and the business world,” she said. She encouraged entrepreneurs to prioritise principles of justice, balance, and sustainability in running their businesses. “A company’s success is not only measured by the size of its profits, but also by how much the company can deliver welfare, a sense of security, and opportunities for growth for its workers,” Netty said. She hoped that this year’s May Day celebration could become a momentum to strengthen collaboration. She assessed that competent workers, fair entrepreneurs, and a present government are the foundation for an advanced and competitive Indonesia.