Labour coalition submits draft Employment Bill to House leadership

A coalition of various labour confederations has submitted a draft proposal for the formulation of the Employment Bill to the leadership of the House of Representatives (DPR) to serve as the problem inventory list (DIM). President of the All-Indonesia Workers’ Union Confederation (KSPSI) Andi Gani Nena Wea stated that the draft was submitted on behalf of 18 labour confederations and 157 national-level federations. According to him, 90 percent of labour organisations are part of the coalition. “We prepared the draft Employment Bill over a full week to discuss it with the DPR,” Andi Gani said at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Monday. The draft proposal was handed over to Deputy Speaker of the DPR Cucun Ahmad Syamsurijal, who was accompanied by members of Commission IX of the DPR. In addition to the submission, the labour coalition also held a dialogue with the DPR. Andi expressed confidence that the DPR would seriously consider the workers’ aspirations. He hopes the resulting Employment Bill will accommodate not only the interests of workers but also all stakeholders. “We hope this communication will continue until the deadline of 31 October 2026, because the Constitutional Court has given a two-month effective period from today, which is very short,” he said. “Hopefully, all the factions that have received us will not treat this merely as a document, but as a problem inventory list that will be juxtaposed by the commissions and the DPR.” Deputy Speaker Cucun Ahmad Syamsurijal committed that the DPR would continue to receive input in the drafting of the bill, as there is still time for the working committee members to utilise. He stated that workers across Indonesia must truly feel the state’s presence through protection and welfare certainty. At the same time, he emphasised that entrepreneurs must also be considered to maintain a favourable investment climate. “The harmonisation process at the Legislation Body (Baleg) is still lengthy; it will return to Commission IX and we will finalise it as a proposed initiative for the Employment Bill,” Cucun said.