RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Deputy Minister of Manpower, Afriansyah Noor, has invited labor and trade unions to collaborate on revising the Manpower Law and updating regulations to adapt to current developments in the world of work.

Afriansyah stressed that the involvement of all stakeholders is crucial to producing regulations that can address future employment challenges.

“The Ministry of Manpower is prepared to cooperate with all parties to establish labor regulations that are adaptable, fair, and able to tackle the challenges of a constantly changing world of work,” Afriansyah said on Monday, June 8, 2026.

The Ministry is working with business associations, labor unions, and the House of Representatives to develop employment policies that protect workers while supporting business productivity.

He emphasized that workers and labor organizations must be involved in drafting regulations to ensure policies reflect real needs. Afriansyah also underlined the strategic role of labor unions in exercising social control to keep employment policies aligned with justice and worker welfare.

“Social control from healthy and independent labor unions is crucial to ensuring that employment policies remain aligned with justice,” he said.

Alongside revising the Manpower Law, the Ministry is pushing to accelerate the renewal of several outdated regulations, including Law No. 1/1970 on occupational safety and a number of colonial‑era rules deemed irrelevant to current industrial conditions.

Afriansyah said these updates are necessary to strengthen worker protection and align policies with technological developments, modern work patterns, and industrial dynamics.

He cited sanction provisions in the old regulations, which stipulate fines of IDR 100,000 or three months’ imprisonment for Occupational Safety and Health violations, as disproportionate to current challenges and risks.

Therefore, the Ministry is advocating improvements to criminal and administrative sanctions to make them more effective and deterrent.

“Occupational Safety and Health protection must continue to be strengthened so that every worker can work safely, healthily, and productively. Improving Occupational Safety and Health regulations is an important part of efforts to achieve more comprehensive worker protection,” Afriansyah said.

The Ministry hopes that updating labor regulations will strengthen worker protection while enhancing national industrial competitiveness. (Misni Parjiati)