12th February, 2020
The government of Indonesia has handed a controversial legislation to parliament on Wednesday to quicken the pace of economic reform and improve the country’s investment climate, prompting a protest by trade unions.
The “Job Creation” bill is one of several of President Joko Widodo’s so-called “omnibus laws” or bills that group together changes in unrelated legislation to allow parliament to vote on them in a single swoop.
Foreign investors often cite regulatory uncertainty, bureaucratic hurdles and strict labor rules as among their top concerns about Indonesia.
“We’re here to hand over the president’s letter, the draft (of the bill) and its academic paper,” said Airlangga Hartarto, coordinating minister for economic affairs.
“At the same time, we will promote the bill across Indonesia … so that society knows what is being discussed, decided and the impact for the national economy. The content is purely to create jobs,” he said.
Details of the bill have mostly been kept under wraps due to the sensitive nature of changes in labor rules and foreign investment limits, but trade unions have already criticized it and called it “modern-day exploitation”.
However, hundreds of union members rallied at the front gate of parliament’s building on Wednesday to protest against the bill.