JAKARTA: Indonesia moved a step closer to passing President Joko Widodo’s contentious “Job Creation” bill after parliament’s legislation committee and government ministers on Saturday approved the latest version for a vote next week.
A coalition of fifteen activist groups, including several trade unions, condemned the move in a statement on Sunday, accusing the government and parliamentarians of completing the deliberations in secret during an unusual hearing late at night over a weekend.
The coalition called on all workers to join their planned national strike on Oct. 6 to 8 to protest the bill, which organizers had said would involve 5 million workers.
The so-called “omnibus” bill, aimed at revising over 70 existing laws in a single vote, is the president’s flagship measure to speed up the pace of economic reform and improve the country’s investment climate.
Global investors have been watching closely to see if the bill gets watered down in parliamentary debates, as Southeast Asia’s largest economy tries to compete for manufacturing investment relocating from China.
In a hearing on Saturday, which ended a few hours before midnight, representatives from seven out of nine factions in the legislation committee approved the bill to be brought to a parliamentary vote, while two factions rejected.
Several ministers led by chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto also approved the final version of the bill, which contained some changes to the government’s original proposal, such as a different scheme for a cut in mandatory severance benefits.
“This bill will support de-bureaucratization and efficiency,” Airlangga said in the televised hearing.
Workers opposing the bill argued the legislation would be a “red carpet for investors, widening the power of the oligarchy” by not only hurting labor protection, but also taking away lands from farmers and indigenous communities, according to the coalition’s statement.
Greenpeace campaigner Arie Rompas, addressing a separate news briefing on Sunday, said his group was reviewing legal actions it could take if parliament passes the bill into law. Green groups have criticized the bill’s provisions that relax environmental study requirements for investors, which they said could lead to ecological disasters.
Government officials have insisted the bill would not hurt labor protection nor the environment and that it is necessary to attract investment and create jobs.
Indonesian parliamentary committee finishes deliberating contentious jobs bill
https://arab.news/6xmag
Indonesian parliamentary committee finishes deliberating contentious jobs bill
- So-called ‘omnibus’ bill aims at revising over 70 existing laws in a single vote
- Government officials insist the bill would not hurt labor protection nor the environment
Russia military police building collapses near Saint Petersburg, causes unclear: governor
- Sertolovo is a small village just outside Saint Petersburg
- Local media outlet 47news reported that three people died in the incident, citing emergency services
MOSCOW: A Russian military police building collapsed on the grounds of an army base outside Saint Petersburg, the local governor said Tuesday, adding that authorities were probing the causes of the incident.
“I have instructed the security forces to assist the military in clearing the rubble and rescuing victims following the collapse of a military police building on the territory of a military unit in Sertolovo,” governor Alexander Drozdenko said.
“The causes of the incident are being investigated,” he added.
Sertolovo is a small village just outside Saint Petersburg, Russia’s second-biggest city.
Local media outlet 47news reported that three people died in the incident, citing emergency services.
It reported that the collapse was caused by an “explosion.”
The outlet also published an unverified photo purporting to show the building, a grey three-story block with damage visible on at least two floors.
Russia has been regularly hit with sabotage attacks on military bases and civilian infrastructure since the start of its Ukraine offensive nearly four years ago.
Gas leaks are a frequent cause for explosions in Soviet-era buildings in Russia, although authorities gave no immediate indication this was the cause.
