Meida Nur Fadila Syuhada (left) dan Priyoga Andikarno (right) as petitioners requesting to withdraw the petition on the Manpower Law, Thursday (3/6/2025). Photo by MKRI/Fauzan.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The material judicial review of Article 85 paragraph (3) of Law No. 13 of 2003 on Manpower, which the Petitioners allege has violated the rights of workers, continued at the Constitutional Court on Thursday, March 6, 2025.

The case No. 175/PUU-XXII/2024 was filed by two university students, Meida Nur Fadila Syuhada and Priyoga Andikarno (Petitioners I-II). They highlighted violations of workers’ rights to decent livelihood, fair treatment, and legal certainty, which should be guaranteed under the Constitution.

Before Constitutional Justices M. Guntur Hamzah (panel chair) and Anwar Usman and Ridwan Mansyur, on behalf of the Petitioners who attended the petition revision hearing remotely without any legal counsel, Meida expressed their wish to withdraw the petition.

“With all do respect, we, the Petitioners in the material judicial review case of Article 85 paragraph (3) of the Manpower Law, would like to request the withdrawal of the case. This decision was taken after careful and informed considerations relating to several matters,” she said.

She explained that, in the beginning, they had believed that the article in question could potentially violate the rights of workers, which are guaranteed under the Constitution. However, after further review, the realized that their evidence was insufficient to support the claim in a concrete manner. In addition, they also realized that as university students, they did not meet the requirement for legal standing that the Court had specified.

“We realized the importance of submitting evidence that is not only relevant, but also has sufficient legal force to convince the Court of the unconstitutionality of said article,” she added. Affirming Meida’s statement, Priyoga also said that they had concluded that the provision in question was consistent with statutory legal bases.

In response to the request, Constitutional Justice M. Guntur Hamzah as the panel chair said that the hearing was adjourned as the withdrawal request had been confirmed.

Also read: Students Demand Certainty over Compensation for Work on Official Holidays

At the preliminary hearing on December 19, 2024, the Petitioners argued that Article 85 paragraph (3) has made it possible for workers to keep working on national holidays without any clear regulation on compensation. He argued this reflects disregard of workers’ welfare and is against Article 2 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution, which guarantees all citizens’ right to work and decent livelihood.

Priyoga also added that Article 85 paragraph (3) has led to legal uncertainty because there is no clarity regarding the rights of workers who work on official holidays. He argued that it is contrary to Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution, which emphasizes the right to fair legal certainty for all citizens.

Author         : Utami Argawati
Editor          : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR               : Tiara Agustina
Translator     : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

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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