Jakarta. A member of the task force that is in charge of promoting the Job Creation Law recently claimed that domestic workers were actually the ones who benefited the most from the so-called omnibus law.

According to the task force’s deputy chairman Raden Pardede, the Job Creation Law has several provisions that can potentially boost the quality of Indonesian manpower. For instance, it facilitates the opening of training facilities. The law also mandates foreign workers to transfer their knowledge and technology.  It adds job loss insurance.

“We shouldn't focus too much on the issue of domestic workers being put as if they are at a disadvantage. But as investment and job opportunities increase, so will the bargaining power of the domestic workers,” Raden said at the Investor Daily Round Table in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Raden told the forum that the Omnibus Law aimed to improve climate investment and spur job opportunities by improving the regulations related to labor and business. An investment coming into the country will culminate into greater labor demand, which will likely lead to a higher pay for the workers. 

“Remember. If the demand for labor grows, this will automatically increase people’s salary because there is supply-and-demand. So I think we must look at [the omnibus law] from a bigger, mid-term perspective,” Raden said.

The omnibus law mainly aimed to cut bureaucratic red tapes to attract investments into the country.  It was initiated in 2019 when President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo began his second term. The House of Representatives enacted it on Oct. 2020. However, protests from labor unions caused the Constitutional Court to freeze its implementation and order revisions. The government responded by issuing a regulation in lieu of the omnibus law signed by the president on Dec. 20, 2022, and approved by the House last year.