Indonesia's Minister Responds to Proposed 45-Hour Workweek

Indonesia’s Minister Responds to Proposed 45-Hour Workweek

Reporter

October 6, 2026 | 06:25 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has addressed a proposal from business leaders advocating an increase in workweek to 45 hours. He emphasized that the officially agreed-upon limit currently stands at 40 hours per week.

Should working hours be extended, Airlangga believed that any such adjustments must align with existing regulations. “If it is set at 45 hours, it must comply with labor protection regulations,” he told reporters following the Big Downstream Insights 2026 event in Jakarta on Tuesday, October 6, 2026.

The push to extend working hours is among several recommendations submitted by the business sector regarding the Labor Protection bill. According to Harijanto, Deputy Chair of the Indonesian Footwear Association (Aprisindo), Vietnam remains Indonesia’s main rival in the footwear manufacturing sector.

Harijanto pointed out that standard workweeks in Vietnam stretch up to 48 hours. “On that [metric] alone, we already lose by 20 percent. We are now proposing an increase to 45 hours. Hopefully, this can be approved by the DPR (House of Representatives) to boost our competitiveness,” he said during a press conference at the Indonesian Employers Association office in Jakarta on Wednesday, September 30, 2026.

The DPR passed the Labor Protection bill into law on Tuesday, October 6, 2026. In earlier drafts of the bill, Article 95 regulates standard working hours at 40 hours per week. However, as of publication, the official text of the newly passed law has yet to be made publicly accessible.

Read: Why Indonesia’s Economy Lags Behind Vietnam: Airlangga Details

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