Why does the number of pages decrease, even though the structure of the chapters and the articles in the Perppu are the same as those in the Job Creation Law?
By
GIANIE/AGUSTINA PURWANTI
·4 minutes read
Indonesia officially has its first omnibus law with the passing of Law No. 11 of 2020 on job creation. The 1,187-page law, since the idea was raised on 20 October 2019 by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo until approved as law by the House of Representatives on 5 October 2020, was discussed for less than one year.
This speedy process to consider a large content of rules invited rejection from a number of groups. The Constitutional Court on 25 November 2021 stated the Job Creation Law was formally flawed and conditionally unconstitutional. The Constitutional Court gave the government time to improve the law in two years on condition that it involves public participation significantly.
In its development, President Jokowi on 30 December 2022 issued Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) Number 2 of 2022 on job creation as thick as 1,117 pages.
Despite being reduced by 70 pages, the contents still consist of 15 chapters and 186 articles, about the same as the contents of Law No. 11/2020. The difference is that Law No. 11/2020 combines the rules of 78 laws, while in Perppu No 2/2022 there are 77 laws that are combined. In addition, there is a slight change in the composition in the articles in the last three chapters of the Perppu.
Why does the number of pages decrease, even though the structure of the chapters and the articles in the Perppu are the same as those in the Job Creation Law? This happens because the job creation law, which is the basis of the Perppu, is a summary of many laws that are not made based on ordinary procedures. It occurs in the preparation of articles in the articles (multilevel).
The number of articles in the Omnibus Law can remain the same. However, the number of articles referred to from certain laws can be reduced by not including them or deleting them. Chapter VI of Perppu No. 2/2022 regarding the ease of business, for example, has a quite dramatic reduction in the number of pages because of the elimination of a number of articles in several referral laws in the chapter. Chapter VI contains a summary of a number of laws which, among others, regulate the matter of taxation.
In Law No. 7/2021 on harmonization of tax regulations, for example, Article 4 relating to tax objects is deleted, thereby being reduced by around 11 pages. Another example is Law No. 42/2009 on the Value Added Tax of Goods and Services and Sales Tax on Luxury Goods. In the Perppu, Article 4A and Article 9 are no longer mentioned, so that it decreases by around 12 pages. This also happens in a number of other laws, which are summarized in the Omnibus Law.
One law that is issued from Perppu No. 2/2022 is Law No. 28/2009 on Regional Taxes and Regional Levies that was previously included in Chapter VI in Law No. 11/2020. The issuance of the law reduced the Perppu by six pages.
Controversy
Articles that are controversial in Perppu No. 2/2022 remain in the cluster regarding employment (Chapter IV), especially Article 81, which changes the provisions of Law No. 13/2003 on Manpower. There are at least 28 articles in Law No. 13/2003 that are deleted. Most of wording of the articles were also changed.
Some things that triggered labor’s rejection include the matter of the abolition of two months’ leave for workers with a work period of more than six years as well as the provisions of a weekly break for two days after working for five days a week. The Perppu only regulates the provision of one day’s rest for six working days per week.
Article 161-172 of the Manpower Law, which is removed from the Perppu, is considered to have the potential to eliminate the rights of workers related to termination of employment. Article 90, which prohibits entrepreneurs from paying lower wages than the minimum wage, is also removed. The items related to wages that also receive attention are the addition of certain index variables in addition to economic growth and inflation in formulating minimum wages.
In addition, there is no clear time limit in the regulations related to the Certain Time Work Agreement (PKWT), which was previously set at a maximum of three years in the Manpower Law. ( KOMPAS R&D)