By : Clara Diah Wulandari )*
As a legal state, of course in Indonesia almost everything must have a strong legal basis. The existence of a strong legal umbrella, especially for groups that are usually vulnerable such as workers, deserves appreciation because it means that they now also have the same or equal power in the eyes of the law.
The Government of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) continues to provide protection to workers as a concrete form of concern for the fate of workers who often experience discrimination or marginalization.
Expert Staff for Employment Economics at the Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker), Aris Wahyudi, revealed that the existence of the Job Creation Law aims to provide protection and certainty in legal aspects to workers or laborers. Thus, when workers have a strong legal umbrella through the existence of the Job Creation Law, it will be very beneficial and will also give them certainty in proving that when, for example, there is a dispute with the company where they work.
Apart from that, the existence of this set of rules also requires that companies in implementing any type of agreement must first be based on an agreement between two parties, namely the company and the worker concerned.
Furthermore, the government also strictly limits companies from acting arbitrarily with their workers, namely by requiring agreements that do not conflict with public order, morality and also the laws and regulations in force in the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).
Basically, the government, through the Job Creation Law, really wants the creation of an employment relationship that is based on an agreement between both parties, namely companies and their workers. However, for example, one day, one of the parties chooses not to agree and not continue their employment relationship, then in this set of regulations, the government requires companies to provide protection for workers, namely in the form of severance pay and so on.
Meanwhile, Secretary of the Directorate General of PHI and Social Security of the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower, Surya Lukita, said that the issuance of the Job Creation Law by the government was basically useful for providing protection and being able to fulfill all the rights of workers.
There are three main aspects in designing the Job Creation Law from the start, namely the first is related to the protection of people who experience difficulties in finding employment. The second aspect, namely that the government, through the Job Creation Law, is trying to improve protection for workers by continuing to clearly state all the rights of workers. Next, the third is that the government provides protection to workers who experience layoffs (PHK) through a social security scheme.
On the other hand, the Head of the Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Agency (BP2MI), Benny Rhamdani, very firmly stated that the Job Creation Law really protects workers without exception, including migrant workers in the country. Therefore, according to him, the government’s enthusiasm for protecting workers, along with efforts to open up employment opportunities, must receive full support from all parties.
The Job Creation Law does not reduce even the slightest protection for workers, including migrant workers, in Indonesia. In fact, the government continues to pay very serious attention to their protection and it is very clear that they will be protected from head to toe.
Recently, textile companies in Indonesia have massively laid off their employees. However, the government has actually protected all their rights through the Ciptaker Law. All very clear legal protections or umbrellas for workers, especially those affected by the layoff policy of the company where they work, are contained in the Job Creation Law.
There are 3 rights that companies are obliged to fulfill to their workers or employees if they want to terminate their employment relationship. The first is that companies must fulfill their rights in the form of severance pay to their workers who have been laid off, then provide long service reward money (UPMK), and also money to replace the rights they should have received.
The government has also regulated the amount of the rights granted in the form of these three amounts of money very clearly through legal umbrellas and protections for workers in the Job Creation Law, as well as the length of work that these employees serve.
Therefore, it is actually very clear that the existence of the Job Creation Law itself serves as a very strong and clear legal umbrella for workers so that they can get all their rights fulfilled by the company where they work, especially if for example those workers experience layoffs.
)* The author is a Contributor to the Nusantara Reading Room