Are Judicial Reviews For Industrial Relations Disputes Allowed Under New Rules?

The Indonesian Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung) held a plenary meeting from November 1 - 3, 2018 in Bandung, in West Java province. The results of this meeting were rendered into Circular of the Supreme Court No. 3 of 2018 dated November 16, 2018 regarding Guidelines for the Role of Indonesian Courts ("SEMA 2018").

SEMA 2018 set new policies for criminal, civil, religious and military legal proceedings to be applied by all courts in Indonesia.

In the section on Labor Court proceedings, SEMA 2018 sets out the following new policies:

1. Employees' right to payment of wage during the termination process (upah proses)

If a fixed-term employment agreement (perjanjian kerja waktu tertentu or "PKWT") becomes a permanent employment agreement (perjanjian kerja waktu tidak tertentu or "PKWTT"), the employee shall not be entitled to payment of wage during the termination process in the event of termination of employment (pemutusan hubungan kerja or "PHK").