Constitutional Justice Manahan M. P. Sitompul speaking at a general lecture at the Law Faculty of the Islamic University of Kalimantan Muhammad Arsyad Al Banjari, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Saturday (10/22/2022). Photo by MKRI/MMA.

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Monday, October 24, 2022 | 09:41 WIB

BANJARMASIN (MKRI)—The labor law in Indonesia has developed rapidly as a result of the Constitutional Court’s (MK) decisions on the judicial review of Law No. 13 of 2003 on Manpower and relevant laws, said Constitutional Justice Manahan M. P. Sitompul at a general lecture at the Law Faculty of the Islamic University of Kalimantan Muhammad Arsyad Al Banjari (UNISKA MAB), Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan on Saturday, October 22, 2022. Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the MAB Budiman Mustafa Foundation, Vice Rector I Mohammad Zainul and Dean of the Law Faculty of UNISKA MAB Afif Khalid attended the lecture, which was entitled “The Constitutional Court and the Development of Labor Law: Protection of the Constitutional Rights of Indonesian Workers/Laborers.” Around 100 participants joined the lecture on site, while 800 joined virtually.

FH UNISKA MAB lecturer Yati Nurhayati in her report as the event’s chairperson said that the lecture was special thanks to the appearance of a constitutional justice and author with the publisher Rajagrafindo Persada. “[On behalf of] the committee, [I] would like to congratulate Constitutional Justice Manahan M. P. Sitompul for being nominated as the best book in 2022 in labor law by the National Library (Perpusnas) of the Republic of Indonesia,” said the alumna of the Law Faculty of UII (Islamic University of Indonesia).

FH UNISKA MAB Dean Afif Khalid said in his remarks the lecture would be the best opportunity for students to discuss directly with the constitutional justice on the Constitutional Court’s decisions on labor law. The lecture was different as it also served as a review of the book by Justice Manahan.

“I am very grateful to Constitutional Justice Manahan M. P. Sitompul for making UNISKA the first place to review your book,” he said.

Constitutional Interpretation of Protection of Workers’ Constitutional Rights

In his lecture, Justice Manahan mentioned three key aspects to the position of workers/laborers in company bankruptcy: the state's obligation to protect Indonesian migrant workers and the protection of workers/laborers' rights, and the job creation law. These three aspects make up the main topics of the book-based lecture.

“So, the Constitutional Court’s role is crucial in order to ensure that no law harms the constitutional rights of laborers and workers, and the Manpower Law is among 10 most-petitioned laws. It has been challenged around 35 times,” said the alumnus of the University of North Sumatera.

Talking about his book, Justice Manahan said he wrote it to portray the dynamics of the manpower law in the Constitutional Court’s decisions. “The book is focused on the development of the manpower law, especially on laws on manpower, as well as relevant Constitutional Court decisions,” he said.

He also talked about the position of workers/laborers in company bankruptcy. “So, based on Article 28D paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution, salary is workers/laborers’ constitutional right. Thus, it is a constitutional right to receive fair and appropriate treatment in work relations. This also informed the Court when deciding cases relating to the rights of laborers or workers, such as in Decision No. 100/PUU-X/2012,’’ he explained.

Concluding his lecture, he also talked about the protection for Indonesian migrant workers overseas. The Court, he said, had provided guidelines for all relevant stakeholders related to migrant placement to implement all regulations on migrant worker protection holistically by prioritizing human rights that are protected and guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution.

The lecture was followed by a discussion. The students and invitees from various universities asked critical questions. The event was concluded by a photo session and book signing by the authors. 

Writer        : Mohammad Mahrus Ali
Editor        : Nur R.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 10/26/2022 08:10 WIB

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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