TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Govt to ban retention of workers' graduation certificates
The Manpower Ministry plans to clamp down on the all-too common practice of employers holding onto the graduation certificates of employees, even ex-employees, effectively keeping them hostage against quitting.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Office workers walk along Jl. Sudirman in downtown Jakarta on May 30, 2024.
(Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
T
he Manpower Ministry plans to issue a regulation prohibiting employers from retaining employees’ graduation certificates, a common practice aimed at discouraging resignations in a bid to retain talent.
This initiative follows a culmination of cases as well as the results of an inspection ordered by Surabaya Mayor Armuji on April 10, which found that a company was holding onto the graduation certificates of dozens of employees and spurred widespread online condemnation.
The company later reported Armuji to the police, arguing that the allegations against it constituted defamation and could hurt its reputation.
Deputy Manpower Minister Immanuel Ebenezer said on Sunday that the government would “find business players that hold onto certificates” and take legal action against them. He also announced the ministry’s plan to issue a regulation to eliminate “criminal offenses conducted by [businesses] against their employees”.
“We have to understand that we live in a state that allows for forceful control. Through what? Through regulations,” he said, as quoted by Kumparan.
Read also: Manpower ministry to issue ruling on THR for online ride-hailing drivers
Immanuel acknowledged that that the practice of employers retaining employees’ graduation certificates was both common and ongoing in some regions, citing recent cases in East Java capital Surabaya and in Pekanbaru, the provincial capital of Riau. He added that companies in the two cities had shown resistance to inspections and accused authorities of illegal conduct, with some filing police reports.
