Government Drafts Plan to Revise the Occupational Safety Law

The Ministry of Manpower is currently reviewing plans to revise Law No. 1 of 1970 on Occupational Safety (“Law 1/1970”). Minister of Manpower Yassierli believes that the regulations, which have been in effect for more than five decades, are no longer relevant to developments in the world of manpower.

One of the points he highlighted is the low level of penalties for occupational safety and health (“OSH”) violations under the current law. According to Yassierli, such low penalties will not serve as a deterrent.

"The law currently governing OSH is Law 1/1970. That law stipulates that business entities violating OSH regulations are subject to fines of only a few hundred thousand rupiah, that’s very outdated,” he said.

Yassierli stated that the revision of Law 1/1970 will also aim to consolidate the various OSH regulations that have so far been scattered and fragmented across different statutes. He mentioned that his ministry is currently taking stock of and reviewing dozens of regulations governing OSH.

Yassierli hopes that these regulatory updates will provide legal certainty for both workers and the business community, while also creating safer working conditions and reducing the number of workplace accidents in the country.