The petition revision hearing of the Manpower Law on 6/3/2025. The Petitioner was absent from the hearing. Photo by MKRI/Ilham WM.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court held a petition revision hearing for the judicial review of Law No. 13 of 2003 on Manpower (the Manpower Law) on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. The case was filed by Leonardo Olefins Hamonangan and registered as case No. 70/PUU-XXIII/2025.

The hearing was scheduled to examine the revised petition. However, the Petitioner failed to appear, either in person or virtually, without giving prior notice or explanation to the panel of justices.

“The Petitioner had been properly notified and his attendance verified, but he was not present, neither in person nor online. Therefore, we will report this matter in the justice deliberation meeting, stating that there has been no response from the Petitioner,” said Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat, who chaired the hearing.

Also read: Petitioner Believes Job Recruitment Discriminatory

At the preliminary hearing on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, Leonardo questioned the constitutionality of Article 35 paragraph (1) of the Manpower Law, which reads, “An employer requiring workers may recruit the necessary workers directly or through a manpower placement provider.”

He asserted that the provision opens the door to discriminatory practices in the recruitment process. He shared his experience as an active job seeker using various online platforms and discovering that many job vacancies set discriminatory requirements, such as age limits, university origin, and physical appearance. 

“Article 35 paragraph (1) of the Manpower Law presents issues related to the sense of justice,” he stated before the constitutional justices.

He argued that such practices run counter to the principles of social justice and non-discrimination mandated by the 1945 Constitution. In his petitum, he asked the Court to declare the article conditionally unconstitutional and to interpret it as prohibiting employers from setting job requirements that discriminate based on age, gender, race, religion, educational background, university origin, or other irrelevant personal traits.

Read more: Petition for Case No. 70/PUU-XXIII/2025

Author: Utami Argawati
Editor: N. Rosi
PR: Raisa Ayuditha Marsaulina

Translator: Yuanna Sisilia

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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