Indonesian Labor Laws Are Superior to Those of Malaysia and Singapore

Indonesian labor laws do not fully guarantee worker protection and are not prominent on the ASEAN scale, but are still better than those of Malaysia and Singapore.

This is evident from the Labour Rights Index (LRI) report compiled by the WageIndicator Foundation and the Centre for Labour Research (CLR).

WageIndicator and CLR compiled the LRI based on the existence of laws protecting 46 components of workers' rights.

These components are grouped into 10 major indicators, namely:

1. Fair wages;
2. Decent working hours;
3. Employment security;
4. Family responsibilities leave/allowances;
5. Maternity leave/allowances;
6. Safe work;
7. Social security;
8. Fair treatment in the workplace;
9. Child and forced labor protection; and
10. Trade union rights.

The research was conducted by collecting applicable labor laws from 135 countries as of January 1, 2022.

The results were then formulated into an index score on a scale of 0-100. The higher the score, the better a country's labor laws are assumed to be and the broader the protection afforded to workers' rights.

WageIndicator and CLR classify the LRI score as follows:

* Score 0-50: Total lack of decent work
* Score 50.5-60: Basic access to decent work
* Score 60.5-70: Limited access to decent work
* Score 70.5-80: Reasonable access to decent work
* Score 80.5-90: Approaching decent work
* Score 90.5-100: Decent work

Using this method, Vietnam and Laos are considered to have the best labor laws in ASEAN.

In 2022, both countries had LRI scores in the range of 71.5-75, both falling into the reasonable access to decent work category.

Then, the LRI scores for the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia were in the range of 60.5-70, falling into the limited access to decent work category.

Meanwhile, Malaysia and Singapore were at the bottom with LRI scores below 50, falling into the total lack of decent work category.

According to the LRI data, Malaysian law does not provide protection for workers' rights related to family and the right to organize.

Furthermore, Singaporean law only guarantees minimal protection in terms of employment contracts, maternity rights, family-related rights, wages, and decent working hours.

It should be noted that this index score only reflects the existence of labor laws guaranteeing these rights, without considering the implementation of the laws or the actual conditions of workers in each country.