Jakarta – House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono has officially asked the government to drop a plan to revise the 2003 labor law, which stirred nationwide protests last month.
The government should instead make other changes to attract investment, he added. The labor law, Agung stressed, should remain untouched because it is not as big a factor in stagnating foreign investment as legal uncertainty, red tape and the lack of infrastructure.
"There are other sectors that we can all improve without having to revise the existing labor law," he was quoted by Antara as saying in Kotamobagu, North Sulawesi, while at the Golkar Party's regional branch.
Agung is the deputy chairman of Golkar, which is the nation's largest party, with 129 seats in the House.
He said he has conveyed the request to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for the sake of stability in the country's political climate. Agung did not say how the President responded to his call.
Yudhoyono had earlier asked six universities to review the implementation of the existing labor law before the government decided whether revisions were necessary or not.
To ease tensions, the President promised to uphold the basic rights and welfare of workers in making further decisions, although he did not completely rule out revising the law.
A series of massive rallies across the country against the proposed revisions to the law almost paralyzed business activities last month and reportedly caused significant financial losses to the business community.
Two days after a peaceful May 1 rally to commemorate International Labor Day, massive marches on May 3 ended in a minor riot in front of the House compound in Jakarta.
Agung's statement appeared to be a blow to businessman-cum-Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who has the support of business groups. Kalla insisted on changes to the labor law, which he said was repelling badly-needed foreign investment.
Kalla is the chairman of Golkar, which has retained support in the House by appeasing the objections of opposition parties to several controversial government policies.
Two House deputy chairmen and a number of lawmakers, mostly from House Commission IX on manpower, have vowed to reject any plan by the government to revise the 2003 labor law.
The draft of the revised labor law sparked anger from workers, who felt it infringed on their basic rights by expanding the use of temporary workers and cutting severance payments.
Tripartite talks on labor and investment issues are underway between the government, labor unions and business groups.
Business groups argue the law should be revised because it grants too many concessions to workers, thus making new investors reluctant to bring their money here.