The outsourcing system in the employment sector could not be revoked by a ministerial decree, Apindo chairperson Sofjan Wanandi said.
Jakarta, Oct 30 (ANTARA) - The Association of Indonesian Employers (Apindo) has stated that it will file a lawsuit if the Minister of Manpower stuck with his decision to issue a regulation on outsourcing.

"There are issues (relating to the regulation) that run against Manpower Law No. 13 of 2003. They involve the minister`s intention to eradicate the outsourcing system and limit its use to five job types, namely cleaning services, catering, security, driving and mining," Apindo chairperson Sofjan Wanandi said here on Tuesday.

He added that the outsourcing system in the employment sector could not be revoked by a ministerial decree.

"The right thing to do would be to change the law and not issue a new regulation that clashes with the industry's interests," Sofjan said.

He pointed out that the proposals made during a tripartite meeting, which was attended by businessmen, workers and government officials, had been ignored.

"What is the use of the meeting if the proposals of the businessmen are ignored? The tripartite meeting was organised by the President. Therefore, the manpower minister should have heard the proposals made by the industrialists," Sofjan stated.

"The industrialists had proposed that more awareness should be raised about the outsourcing system," he said.

"Many local officials do not know enough about the outsourcing system. Therefore, they have implemented it at their own will. The essence of the system is to hand over a job to an external source in order to not disrupt internal production," Sofjan explained.

He said the government must take action against outsourcing companies that failed to follow the rules of the system.

"There are not many good outsourcing companies, maybe between 100 and 200. But the bad ones number in thousands," Sofjan pointed out.

"Such bad companies never give the necessary training to workers. Their licenses are also questionable," he stated.

"I know that thousands of outsourcing companies are not established as legal entities. Even a village head could issue a license," Sofjan noted.

"The problem also became worse because of regulations in several regions that required companies located there to employ 50 to 60 percent of local workers," he said.

"Therefore, there have been a lot of outsourcing companies, run by various kinds of individuals such as youth or mass organization leaders," Sofjan added.

Sofjan expressed hope that the government would step up supervision over such companies.

"These companies have received fees from the companies that use their services but they continue to charge levies on their workers," he pointed out.

Sofjan said the minister of manpower must immediately issue a clear regulation in order to create a conducive investment climate in the country.

"Many investors have taken a wait-and-see stance with regard to the settlement of this issue," he continued.

"I am worried about labour-intensive industries. It is not impossible for investors to consider Indonesia as no longer being a suitable place and they might shift their investment to other countries," Sofjan stated.

Workers across the country have been demanding the revocation of the outsourcing system.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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