A wave of rejection of the omnibus law on the Work Creation Bill occurred again last week, in line with the ongoing discussions by the House of Representatives -DPR. This rejection apparently came from the concern that the design would harm workers, farmers, fishermen, including office workers.

Broadly speaking, there are several articles that are feared to threaten workers if the Job Creation Bill is passed. There are related to the reduction of rest time, the elimination of long leave, the hourly wage payment scheme and the stipulation of timeframes for a certain time work agreement or contract workers.

There are two points that will have a direct impact on the wage system for workers. They are the standard wage based on the unit of time and the unit of yield. Many think that this wage scheme will be the basis for companies to enforce hourly wage calculations.

The Job Creation Bill also changes the terms of time for fixed-term work agreements or contract workers.

The regulations regarding work agreements in the Job Creation Bill are considered to be detrimental to workers because of the unequal power relations in making agreements. The term of the contract will be in the hands of the employers, which can even make the contract status last for good. Employers can at any time dismiss contract workers as long as they provide compensation in accordance with the additional provisions in article 61A, which are not contained in the Manpower Law.

In fact, companies and workers need to build equal, mutually beneficial and harmonious relationships, because both sides need each other.