Workers’ rights protests highlight modern slavery risks for people in Indonesia

Tens of thousands of Indonesians have taken to the streets to protest weak labour laws, economic inequality, and government corruption.

Demonstrators have highlighted how the Omnibus Law, intended to simplify regulations and boost investment, has weakened protections, lowered wages, and reduced job security.

Frustration is further fuelled by parliamentarians receiving a monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupiah (around US$3,000). This is while most Indonesians earn less than US$200 per month.

Weakened labour protections combined with extreme economic inequality leave workers vulnerable to exploitation.

An estimated 1.8 million people are living in modern slavery in Indonesia, according to the latest Global Slavery Index.

This makes the country one of the 10 worst-affected in the Asia Pacific region.

Forced labour is reported in sectors including fishing and fish processing, palm oil production, logging, construction, mining, and manufacturing, as well as domestic work, where women and girls are particularly vulnerable.

Abuses in these sectors are often connected to environmental exploitation.

In palm oil, workers face debt bondage, withheld wages, and harassment. While in fishing, declining stocks have fuelled exploitative practices such as excessive salary deductions and inhumane conditions at sea.

Indonesian workers are also trafficked overseas, including into domestic work, fishing fleets, and increasingly into online scam centres.

While the government is moving toward mandatory human rights due diligence legislation, this will not take effect before 2028.

A gap remains in identifying and supporting survivors, addressing forced labour in supply chains, and protecting migrant workers.

The 2019 Law on Protection of Migrant Workers has yet to be fully implemented, and survivors in shelters have reported restrictions on their freedom of movement.

The government’s National Action Plan on trafficking (2020–2024) has been finalised but is not yet fully funded.

Labour inspections remain weak, and cases of official complicity in forced labour are not being investigated.

To protect its workers and uphold rights, Indonesia must:

• Fully fund and implement its National Action Plan on trafficking.
• Strengthen survivor support, including shelters and referral systems.
• Criminalise all forms of modern slavery, including forced labour and child sexual exploitation.
• Enforce labour protections in high-risk sectors and investigate corruption tied to modern slavery cases.
• Introduce comprehensive mandatory human rights due diligence legislation to prevent businesses and government from sourcing goods linked to exploitation.

With protests putting workers’ rights in the spotlight, there is an urgent opportunity for Indonesia to take decisive action.