T

he Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that employers had to register their workers on national health-care and occupational social security programs, and had to pay for their premiums.

A nine-member Constitutional Court panel, chaired by Mahfud MD, made the ruling to respond to a judicial review filed by a labor union federation against Article 15 of Law No. 24/2011 on social security providers (BPJS).

The article only requires employers to register their workers without giving details as to who pays for the premium, a provision that the labor unions considered as contradicting the 1945 Constitution, which guarantees workers’ rights for social security protection.

“The article contradicts the Constitution as it gives the impression that registering the workers on the program is not mandatory,” Mahfud said, reading the court’s verdict.

The ruling said that the article should read: “Employers are obliged to have their workers registered gradually as participants with the BPJS, that workers have the right to register themselves as participants in the programs and that employers must pay for them.”

The judicial review was filed by the chairman of the Federation of Indonesian Workers’ Association (FISBI), FISBI secretary general Susi Sartika and Yulianti, a member of staff of PT Megahbuana Citramasindo, soon after the law on BPJS was endorsed in September last year.

FISBI filed for the judicial review after efforts from employers to interpret the law that the payment of the premium for joining the national social security programs depended on employers’ financial
capabilities.

The government also has plans to require that workers and employers share the burden in the payment of the premium. In a draft of a government regulation for the law, workers are expected to spend 8 percent of their monthly salary to pay for the health-care program.

The BPJS law mandates that the BPJS scheme must be implemented by Jan. 1, 2014. The law also sets the deadline for four occupational programs to commence in July 2015.

Workers recently staged a national strike to oppose the outsourcing system, the cheap labor policy and the government’s plan to impose taxes or levies on workers to participate in national social security programs.

Employers blasted the court ruling on Monday.

The Indonesian Employers’ Association (Apindo) said the verdict contradicted the basic principles of the insurance industry.

“Based on Law no. 40/2004 on the national social security system, financing for the social security programs should be a joint contribution from employers and their workers because the social security system is based on the cooperation principle. White collar workers must pay more to subsidize blue collar workers who pay less,” said Apindo secretary general Anton Supit.

Anton said that under the current social security programs, workers must spend around 3 percent of their monthly salaries on the pension benefit scheme.

He said that Apindo would conduct a study to gauge the impact of the court’s verdict on the country’s competitiveness.

Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union (KSPI) chairman Said Iqbal hailed the verdict as a major victory for workers.

“The government and employers must comply with this verdict. We thank God for this, the court gave the victory to us in the name of the Constitution,” he said.

Indonesian Workers Organization (OPSI) secretary general Timboel Siregar said that with the verdict, the Health Ministry and the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry had to make adjustments to the draft regulation.

“There will be no opportunity for employers to shirk from their responsibility. If workers are not registered by employers, they can register themselves and their premium will be paid by the employers,” he said.