Labourers Take to the Streets as the DPR Prepares to Revise Employment Regulations

Approximately 50,000 labourers staged a demonstration in Jakarta on Thursday (24 September 2026) to monitor the deliberation of the Draft Law on Employment Protection (Rancangan Undang-Undang (RUU) Pelindungan Ketenagakerjaan). As reported by detikFinance, the demonstrators came from several areas, including West Java, Banten, Bekasi, and the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (DKI Jakarta), with the action commencing in the Semanggi area.

The demonstration conveyed a number of demands concerning the deliberation of the Draft Law, ranging from wages, outsourcing, social security, contract workers or Fixed-Term Employment Agreements (PKWT), platform workers, severance pay, menstrual leave, to apprenticeships. Bisnis.com reported that one of the demands voiced by the labourers was to limit the duration of fixed-term employment contracts and restrict the types of work that may use an outsourcing system.

The demonstration took place while the Draft Law on Employment Protection was still under deliberation by the DPR together with the Government. Commission IX of the DPR had established a Working Committee (Panja), while the Government had submitted a List of Issues (Daftar Inventarisasi Masalah (DIM)) as material for the deliberations.

So, what exactly is being discussed in this Draft Law, and why have several of its provisions become a concern for labourers?

From the Manpower Law to the New Draft Law

The DPR explained that one of the reasons for the formulation of this Draft Law is that the current employment regulations are dispersed across various laws and regulations, thereby necessitating consolidation and harmonisation. The deliberation is not limited to factory workers or company employees. Forms of employment relationships that have developed in recent years are also receiving attention.

This Draft Law follows up on Constitutional Court Decision Number 168/PUU-XXI/2023. On 14 September 2026, the DPR and the Government entered the First-Level Deliberation and established a Working Committee (Panja) to discuss the substance of the Draft Law. The DPR stated that the draft consists of 20 chapters and 264 articles.

What, Then, Is the Status of Law No. 13/2003 and Law No. 6/2023?

At present, employment regulations continue to refer to Law Number 13 of 2003, which has been amended, among others, through Law Number 6 of 2023 on Job Creation.

If the Draft Law on Employment Protection is enacted, Law No. 6/2023 will not automatically be repealed. The Job Creation Law regulates numerous sectors, not merely employment. Accordingly, what will be determinative is the extent to which the new Draft Law repeals or replaces the employment provisions previously regulated under Law No. 13/2003 and Law No. 6/2023.

This is where the provisions on repeal and transitional arrangements become important. The Draft Law must clearly answer: which regulations are repealed, which remain in force, and what happens to existing provisions that have already been amended by the Job Creation Law.

The issue has become increasingly complex following Constitutional Court Decision Number 168/PUU-XXI/2023, which held that several provisions amending Law No. 13/2003 under the Job Creation Law had no binding legal force and, in certain respects, reinstated the previous provisions.

This means that the new Draft Law cannot merely add new norms. It must also streamline the chain of amendments to Law No. 13/2003, Law No. 6/2023, and the Constitutional Court decision so as not to leave a simple yet fundamental question unanswered: once the new Law takes effect, which employment regulations should actually be applied?

What Are the Labourers Challenging?

In the deliberation of the Draft Law on Employment Protection, a number of issues that have long been of concern to workers have been brought before the Working Committee. The DPR has identified PKWT, outsourcing, wages, severance pay, termination of employment, social security, apprenticeships, and Occupational Safety and Health (K3) as part of the substance currently under discussion.

Beyond these substantive matters, trade unions have also conveyed their aspirations through a series of Public Hearings (RDPU). One of the matters highlighted is certainty of the employment relationship, including the regulation of contracts and outsourcing. Aspirations concerning women workers’ rights, protection of reproductive rights, and a workplace environment that is safe from gender-based violence and harassment have also been conveyed to Commission IX.

Accordingly, the deliberation of the Draft Law concerns not only how employment relationships are established, but also how workers’ rights are protected in the event of contracts, outsourcing, termination of employment, or workplace-related issues.

What About Ride-Hailing Drivers and Platform Workers?

Digital platform workers are one of the new issues in the deliberation of the Draft Law. The DPR has expressly identified protection of digital platform workers as one of the substantive matters under consideration.

However, regulating them is not as simple as placing ride-hailing drivers within the category of ordinary workers. During the 21 September Public Hearing, representatives of driver communities instead questioned the application of employment provisions to online transportation drivers, who have traditionally worked under partnership arrangements and with flexible working hours.

This is where the legal issue arises: if platform workers are regulated under the employment Draft Law, how will their relationship with the platform be characterised? Will they remain partners, or will they receive a form of protection reflecting a different type of employment relationship?

Protection of Women Workers to K3

The protection of women workers is also among the aspirations incorporated into the deliberations. During the Public Hearing, representatives of the Industriall Indonesia Council called for strengthening the principles of non-discrimination, equal employment opportunities, and protection of reproductive and maternity rights.

Meanwhile, members of the DPR Working Committee identified K3 as one of the strategic issues requiring discussion alongside wages, PKWT, outsourcing, termination of employment, severance pay, and apprenticeships.

Accordingly, this Draft Law encompasses a fairly broad range of issues, from conventional employment relationships to new forms of work. The challenge is to ensure that each category of worker has certainty regarding their status, rights, and protection mechanisms, without creating new issues in its implementation.

The Draft Law Has Not Yet Been Enacted. What Comes Next?

At present, the Draft Law on Employment Protection remains under deliberation. The DPR and the Government are still discussing its substance through the Working Committee, while input from trade unions, employers, and other groups of workers is also forming part of the process.

Another matter that requires attention is how the Draft Law will determine its relationship with Law No. 13/2003 as amended, including through Law No. 6/2023. If the objective of the Draft Law is indeed to consolidate employment regulations, its provisions concerning repeal, amendment, and transitional arrangements must be sufficiently clear so as not to give rise to new questions as to which regulations apply and how the new Draft Law is to be positioned within the existing employment law framework.