Minister of Manpower Launches New Regulation to Prevent Sexual Violence in Workplace

Jakarta –

The Minister of Manpower, Ida Fauziyah launched the Decree of the Minister of Manpower (Kepmenaker) No. 88 of 2023. This regulation was born for the sake of increasing the prevention and handling of sexual violence in the workplace.

Ida Fauziyah said that one of the reasons for this rule came from a viral incident that happened to a worker in Cikarang who was given a staycation condition to extend his contract.

“One case has caught our attention because one of the employees required a staycation for a contract extension. Hopefully this is not an iceberg phenomenon. Hopefully this does not represent conditions at work,” said Ida, at the Apindo Office, Kuningan , South Jakarta, Thursday (1/6/2023).

The birth of the Kepmenaker, Ida continued, was seen as a joint commitment to following up technical regulations on preventing sexual harassment after Law (UU) No. 12th year 2022.

“So this incident became a trigger, but in fact we have had a high commitment for quite some time, especially after UU 12/2022,” he added.

With the publication of this Decree on Manpower, Ida emphasized that sexual violence that occurs in the workplace can affect anyone, both women and men. In this case, his party also ensures that this Decree upholds gender equality.

Ida also added that through this Ministerial Decree, companies were encouraged to form a Task Force (Satgas) that focused on preventing sexual violence. The elements contained in it include company management and employees.

Meanwhile, the Director General for Development of Industrial Relations and Social Security for Workers (Dirjen PHI), Indah Anggoro Putri, said that this Ministerial Decree was made in a very short time, as a quick response to one of the viral incidents that affected workers in Cikarang.

“(The Ministry of Manpower) has prepared regulatory products that can be completed quickly. And we will finish this in seven working days,” said Indah in her remarks.

Indah added that Kepmenaker 88/2022 even just got serial number 88 yesterday and was immediately launched today. This shows that the government is really speeding up the solution.

“We have discussed the draft Ministerial Decree with the leaders of the SP confederation (work unions) virtually a week ago via zoom. Some have asked why only the Ministerial Decree. The answer is because we need it in a short time, while the Ministerial Regulation must take time,” he said.

The government itself had previously issued SE Menakertrans No. 03//MEN/IV/2011 to provide protection for women workers. However, to complement and strengthen the SE, the government has also raised its status to become this Minister of Manpower Decree. Indah said that after this there is still a possibility that the level will be raised to a Ministerial Regulation (Permen).

The issuance of this Ministerial Decree was welcomed by employers and workers alike. Chairman of the Indonesian Employers’ Association (Apindo) Hariyadi B. Sukamdani, the issue of sexual violence itself is a challenge for entrepreneurs in solving it, including in the implementation of related government regulations.

“The issuance of Kepmenaker 88/2023 strengthens the Law on the Crime of Sexual Violence which has already been enacted. So this is indeed a challenge for us because of the cases that have arisen. If you look at ILO data from August to September 2022, 70.81% of workers have been victims. And 54 % of the perpetrators are superiors or colleagues,” he said.

President of the All Indonesian Trade Union Confederation Eli Rosita Silaban also stated that he welcomed the publication of this regulation. Moreover, considering that many cases of sexual violence in the workplace go undetected because the victims do not have the courage to report it.

“We also have a suggestion for us to be involved in the task force,” he said.

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