In 2016 the Republic of Indonesia’s working-age group made up 67 per cent of the population. In 2002 the Government of Indonesia took fundamental steps toward improved income security for this important group through amendments to the 1945 Constitution. As such, the 1945 Constitution now recognizes the right to social security and the responsibility of the State in ensuring sufficient income security for all persons of working-age.
Article 28H of the Constitution of Indonesia guarantees income security for working-age persons in stating that “every person shall have the right to live in physical and spiritual prosperity, to have a home and to enjoy a good and healthy environment … [and] have the right to social security in order to develop oneself fully as a dignified human being.” This constitutional provision has encouraged legislative milestones in the progressive implementation of the National Social Security Law (Law No.40/2004), which mandates the extension of social protection to the whole population and makes specific entitlements for work injury and in cases of death of the breadwinner. The Law follows a staircase approach with non-contributory schemes for the poor, contributory schemes for self-employed and statutory schemes for formal sector workers. Constitutional provisions have also resulted in the Law on Workers’ Social Security Providers, which has transformed four state-owned insurance companies into non-profit public entities, which will implement schemes targeting the poorest and most vulnerable populations starting in 2015.
Indonesia constitutional advancements toward strengthened social protection were realised through an inclusive and open constitutional debate, which invited stakeholders to participate in the People’s Consultative Assembly between 1999 and 2002. Based on the resulting constitutional provisions, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia now has a strong mandate to provide basic income security for persons of working-age. Through this process lawmakers in Indonesia have demonstrated political will to uphold equality and ensure that constitutional and legal provisions for income security form strong legal foundations for the creation of a social protection floor.
Further Reading:
- Government of the Republic of Indonesia (1945) with access from the database of the International Labour Organization. Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. Accessed from http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---ilo_aids/documents/legaldocument/wcms_174556.pdf on December 2016.