The Petitioner’s legal counsel delivering the revisions to the petition at a panel judicial review hearing of Law No. 2 of 2004 on Industrial Relations Disputes Settlement, Tuesday (8/26/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held another hearing for the material judicial review of Article 82 of Law No. 2 of 2004 on Industrial Relations Disputes Settlement (PPHI Law), filed by citizen Domuli Sentudes, on Tuesday, August 26, 2025. The petition revision hearing took place in a panel courtroom.

Before Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra and members of the panel, legal counsel for case No. 132/PUU-XXIII/2025 Haposan Sahala Raja Sinaga delivered the revisions to the petition. They concern, among others, the elaborations of the Constitutional Court’s authority to adjudicate the case a quo by adding Constitutional Court Regulation No. 7 of 2025; the Petitioner’s legal standing by the addition of the elaboration of his potential losses; and the Petitioner’s actual loss in the form of absence of severance pay already calculated, thereby meeting the qualifications of a direct and specific infringement of constitutional rights arising from the challenged provisions.

“The process at the Manpower Office is far from swift, as mediation proceedings resemble formal examinations, meaning that preparing the necessary litigation documents may take as long as three to six months. As a result, workers lose a significant amount of time and, in practice, may be deprived of the one-year period of limitation for filing a lawsuit,” Sinaga explained.

Also read: Laid-Off Employee Questions Deadline to File Industrial Relations Dispute Lawsuit

At the preliminary hearing on Wednesday, August 13, the Petitioner, an individual Indonesian citizen, explained that he had been laid off by a private company in Jakarta as of October 31, 2023. However, he was unable to file a lawsuit challenging the termination because the statutory time limit of no more than one (1) year from the date of termination had elapsed. As a result, he lost his entitlement to severance pay, long-service award, and/or separation pay as guaranteed under the prevailing labor laws and regulations.

The Petitioner contends that his constitutional right to assurance and legal certainty, as guaranteed under Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution, and to special treatment to secure opportunities to achieve justice, as guaranteed under Article 28H paragraph (2), should allow him to file a dispute over termination of employment beyond one year from the announcement of termination.

He believes Article 82 of Law No. 2 of 2004 unduly limits the period for filing a lawsuit over termination of employment to within one (1) year from the date of receipt or notification of the employer’s decision. In practice, this restriction may serve as a serious impediment to the constitutional rights of workers/laborers to obtain substantive justice.

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR            : Raisa Ayuditha M.
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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