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At least 30 articles in omnibus bill contravene Constitution
The bill, which comprises the draft revision of 79 laws, also neglected 25 other Constitutional Court rulings with 21 of them not adopted at all and four only partially adopted.
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Members of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) stage a protest against the controversial omnibus bill on job creation in front of the House of Representatives compound in Jakarta on Feb. 12. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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t least 30 articles in the omnibus bill on job creation are constitutionally problematic, therefore the government should retract the bill and fix it before resubmitting the draft law to the House of Representatives, legal observers have warned.
Judicial watchdog KoDe Inisiatif said the omnibus bill, if passed into law, would revive seven problematic laws that had been annulled by the Constitutional Court.
The bill, which comprises the draft revision of 79 laws, also neglected 25 other Constitutional Court rulings with 21 of them not adopted at all and four only partially adopted.
"All potential violations of the constitutional norms are a serious concern. All of these will be seen as systemic deviations, not simply partial,” KoDe Inisiatif constitutional and economics coordinator Rahmah Mutiara said on Thursday.
Citing an example, Rahmah said Article 166 of the bill gives the president the authority to revoke bylaws by issuing a presidential regulation (Perpres). The article contravenes Constitutional Court ruling No. 137/2015, which prohibits the central government from revoking bylaws, annulling Article 251 paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) of Law No. 23/2014.
The bill, one of the flagship programs of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration, also does not take into consideration Constitutional Court ruling No. 58/2011, which annulled Article 169 paragraph (1) Law No. 13/2003 on labor. The ruling affirms that workers can apply for layoffs if their employers do not pay their wages for three months in a row.
“If the government and the House disregard the Constitution, there could be massive implications. It could harm our constitutional democracy and violate citizens' rights.”
