Govt Prepares Implementing Regulations for Omnibus Bill on Job Creation

Govt prepares implementing regulations for omnibus bill on job creation.  The government has begun preparing regulations so the omnibus bill on job creation can be implemented within a month after being passed into law, expected to be in October, an official has said. Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Bahlil Lahadalia said

Tuesday the government had been preparing the implementing regulations for the articles in the bill that had been agreed upon by lawmakers. 

“We have prepared the concepts of the government regulations,” Bahlil said in a virtual presser on Tuesday. “They will only need some adjustments if there are any changes to the articles.” 

The government is trying to revise 79 prevailing laws and more than 1,200 articles with the omnibus bill. The bill, which is more than 1,000 pages long and contains 174 articles in 15 chapters, has faced backlash from labour unions, observers and NGOs that argue it will jeopardize labour rights and weaken environmental protection, among other issues. 

Lawmakers are expected to discuss issues related to the employment provisions in the bill this month to accommodate proposed revisions on wages, severance pay, layoffs and social security, among other things, that were submitted by 18 labour unions in August. 

The government expects the bill to address many overlapping regulations and help attract investment to support economic growth and create jobs. 

Bahlil, however, admitted that the bill might not have any significant impact on investment this year, adding that the effects were expected to be felt next year. The government expects to attract Rp817.2 trillion (US$55.4 billion) in investment this year. 

“We estimate that growth [in investment next year] could be 2 to 3 percent higher than normal growth. But, we need to adjust the data to take into account [the impacts of] COVID-19,” said Bahlil. 

Investment increased 12.2 percent year-on-year (yoy) in 2019, much higher than the 4.1 percent recorded in 2018. 

BKPM reported in late July that Rp191.9 trillion in investment had been recorded in the second quarter of this year, 4.3 percent lower than the same period last year. Domestic investment fell 1.4 percent yoy and foreign direct investment fell 6.9 percent yoy. However, Bahlil said his office estimated the investment figures in the July-September period would be better than the figures in the April-June period. Govt prepares implementing regulations for omnibus bill on job creation (Dzulfiqar Fathur Rahman,  The Jakarta Post)