Indonesia Highlights: Labor Unions to Stage Massive Protests Next Month If Jobs Law Signed | Indonesia Records Over 380,000 Covid-19 Cases | Senior Minister Assures MSMEs to Get Halal Certification at No Cost under Jobs Law

KOMPAS.com – It has been seven months since Indonesia announced its first confirmed Covid-19 cases in March, and official government data shows no sign of the transmission of the coronavirus slowing. And even as it battles this, another crisis has prompted the government to do firefighting as students and workers keep them busy with the never-ending protests against the newly passed Job Creation Law.

No matter how the government and House of Representatives try to get Indonesia to believe  the law can open up more jobs following the flow of new investments into the country, people still urge the government to revoke the controversial law. The new law will harm the rights of the workers, labor unions argued.

Labor leaders have warned that massive protests will continue to take place next month if President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo signs it at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto assured that the Job Creation Law will allow micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to get the halal certification for their products without any charge.

Below are excerpts from stories on current events in Indonesia, curated by Kompas.com editors: