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2024 polls may complicate Jokowi’s efforts to revise jobs law
Key coalition parties may strive to appear more pro-labor as the general elections approach.
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A student protester holds up a poster based on the packaging of a headache medicine on Oct. 8, 2020, during a demonstration on Jl. M.H. Thamrin in Central Jakarta. The poster reads, “The omnibus law causes headaches, environmental damage, the oppression of workers.” JP/Seto Wardhana (JP/Seto Wardhana)
W
ith his ruling coalition now accounting for more than 80 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo may have enough political capital to salvage his flagship Job Creation Law, which was recently declared “provisionally unconstitutional” by the Constitutional Court.
However, analysts say there is no guarantee that House factions will go along with his plans, as certain parties, including the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), may distance themselves from the jobs law to gain the support of labor groups, who strongly oppose it, ahead of the 2024 elections.
The court has ordered the government and the House to revise the jobs law within two years. If they fail to do so, it will be declared “permanently unconstitutional” and all the laws it sought to replace will be reinstated.
The court ruling held that the law lacked a legal basis, as the 2011 law on the drafting of laws and regulations did not recognize “omnibus laws” as a legislative category and because the bill was passed without adequate public consultation.
‘Priority bill’
The House and government aim to pass a revised version of the Job Creation Law early next year. They agreed on Monday to put the deliberation of the revisions at the top of the House's 2022 priority list.
