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Tripartite discussion for the establishment of maternity benefit scheme in Jakarta, Indonesia
Christianus Panjaitan; Ippei Tsuruga
On 26 June 2023, the ILO was invited to a tripartite focus group discussion to improve maternity protection in Jakarta, Indonesia. The tripartite meeting was attended by approximately 30 representatives of workers, employers and the Government, and organized and facilitated by the Ministry of Manpower.
The Parliament has been discussing an extension of statutory maternity leave from 3 months to 6 months and paternity leave from 2 days to 40 days. In Indonesia, maternity and paternity benefits are provided through employers’ liability schemes, and therefore it has been debated that the proposed extensions would possibly increase costs on employers especially in the female dominant industries.
As part of technical contributions, the ILO has conducted an actuarial study to propose to replace the existing employer’s liability scheme by a new social insurance scheme.
Chaired by Mr Sahala Pasaribu , Memberhip Development Coordinator, Social Security Directorate, Ministry of Manpower, the meeting discussed issues to be taken into considerations in establishing maternity program and benefits in relations to the draft law on mother and child welfare that provides extension of statutory maternity leave mentioned above.
Mr Andy William Sinaga, Worker’s representative at DJSN presented the ongoing discussions on legal and policy reforms and challenges on maternal and childcare.
Mr Ippei Tsuruga, ILO Social Protection Programme Manager, presented a comparison between Indonesia’s policies and international labour standards on maternity leaves and benefits. He highlighted, ‘According to our actuarial study, we recommend replacing the employer’s liability scheme by a new social insurance scheme and applying a mandatory coverage to all wage employees. If Indonesia adopts such a scheme according to the ILO Convention 183 – 67 percent of previous wage for 14 weeks, the scheme would require 0.5 percent of insured earnings.’
Mr Timboel Siregar, of BPJS Watch, highlighted ‘When discussing laws and regulations to protect mother and children, we must consider the ILO’s international labour standards.’
Ms. Sifalina, Industrial & Employee Relations Executive of PT Sampoerna Tbk presented provision of mandatory paid leave of 4.5 months and optional unpaid leave of 1.5 months for main caregiver, and paid leave of 3 months and optional unpaid leave of another 3 months for supporting caregiver during maternity period. The terms “main caregiver” and “supporting caregiver” are used by the company to eliminate gender bias towards woman’s responsibility during maternity. She maintained “Caring for a newborn is the responsibility of the family, not just the mother.