Court rules controversial Indonesian Omnibus Law unconstitutional

Thanks to actions by the trade unions, the court has ruled that the Indonesian government must apply amendments to the controversial Omnibus Law. This is tremendous news because the law created barriers to workers’ rights and environmental protections. Furthermore, the legislation itself was procedurally flawed. We interviewed our Mondiaal FNV colleague Tia Mboeik (Indonesia) about this unique victory.

Photo: Marsinah FM
 

Victory

On 25 November 2021, Indonesia’s  Constitutional Court ordered the government to amend parts of a controversial job creation law within two years. If this is not done, the law will be declared invalid. “Tremendous news”, says Mondiaal FNV consultant Mboeik, speaking from Indonesia, while at the same time warning that it’s not 100% victory yet. “The decision is highly unique, in that it has never happened before, but it does leave the government with enough scope to remedy the flaws. Two years to comply with the requirements to review a law is quite long. The news is still fresh. In the coming days, there will be a lot of discussions about what exactly this historic judgment means and how far we can go as trade union.”

The court’s ruling will prevent the government from pushing through the overambitious economic plan so easily

“The Court’s decision shows that the government may no long push through its overambitious economic plan as easily as before”, says Mboeik. “The Court’s decision is predominantly about the procedure followed, not about the substance of the law. Under this procedure, the government has not cancelled the old laws, but reviewed them, and added new laws, putting them under a single umbrella. This is not allowed by the Indonesian constitution.” The Omnibus Law remains in force for the time being. Only if the government has not remedied the procedural faults in two years’ time will it be declared unconstitutional.

Tia Mboeik

Discussion on how to proceed

Because it is unclear precisely which actions the government is now required to take to comply with the requirements, it is also unclear to the trade unions how they should now proceed, says Mboeik. “But together we are strong. What we can now do is join mass demonstrations and increase the pressure to get the entire law repealed."

Unions in action against erosion of labour laws

Ever since the law was drafted, the Indonesian unions have agitated against the proposal. According to the government, the Omnibus Law had the intention of attracting investment and creating jobs. However, what the unions above all see is erosion of their rights. The law has not only removed the protection against outsourcing, but also erodes the leave entitlements and social security provisions of many workers. The minimum wage provision has been watered down, the maximum allowable overtime increased and it enables employers to maintain temporary contracts for an indefinite period.

Less environmental protection

Environmental organisations also protested against the law, one reason being because the requirement to prevent environmental damage and to prepare environmental impact assessments in advance has been relaxed, as has the penalties in the case of infringements. In addition, palm oil companies were, up to last year, required to reserve 20% of their land concessions for smallholder farmers, who had originally owned the land, so that these farmers and their families could still just about manage to eke out a living in amongst the palm oil plantations. This requirement, too, has been dropped.

Little room for resistance

The Omnibus Law became effective in October 2020. The opponents accused the government of rushing it through parliament, and they were given little room to oppose the bill because of the corona measures. The bill, which was over 1,000 pages long and which amends 79 existing laws, was adopted with the support of seven of the nine parties. Here in the Netherlands too, we   lobbied jointly against this law.