Amid growing concerns over labor protections in Indonesia following the enactment of the Job Creation Law and its derivative regulations, the Social Welfare Study Program (IKS) at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta partnered with SERBUK Indonesia to host a national seminar examining global experiences in workers’ social protection and labor advocacy.

The seminar, titled “Best Practices in the Struggle for Workers’ Social Protection in Northern Europe and the Asia-Pacific,” was held on March 6, 2024, at the Theatrical Hall of the Faculty of Dakwah and Communication. The event brought together academics, labor activists, students, and civil society organizations to discuss the future of social protection and labor justice in Indonesia.

Organizers framed the discussion against the backdrop of shifting labor policies in Indonesia, where labor advocates argue that recent reforms have weakened workers’ rights by expanding outsourcing practices, short-term contracts, and reducing protections related to wages, pensions, and employment security.

The seminar featured three speakers from different regional contexts.

Mikko Hakkarainen of the Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland (SASK) and the Finnish Industrial Union presented Finland’s labor protection model, highlighting the role of trade unions in building a comprehensive welfare system.

He described Finland’s publicly funded education and healthcare systems, noting that education is provided free of charge from early childhood through university. Rather than relying on a national minimum wage, Finland structures wages sectorally through negotiations between labor unions and employers. Tax revenues, he explained, form the backbone of the country’s welfare system.

“Trust in government institutions and low levels of corruption are central to Finland’s social model,” Hakkarainen said, adding that Finland has repeatedly ranked among the world’s happiest countries.

The second speaker, Marlon Quesada, Asia-Pacific Regional Education Officer at Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), focused on labor conditions across the Asia-Pacific region.

He argued that workers remain among the most vulnerable groups despite being central to economic development. Rising costs of education, healthcare, housing, and basic necessities continue to burden workers throughout the region, while access to social protection remains uneven.

Quesada outlined several regional challenges, including limited social insurance access for low-income workers, gender disparities in benefits, weak unemployment schemes, insufficient government investment, labor violations, corruption, and fragile trade union systems.

Muhammad Izzul Haq, M.Sc., a lecturer in the Social Welfare Study Program at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, addressed Indonesia’s own social protection landscape.

He noted that Indonesia’s welfare protections remain far from universal or comprehensive, with social protection spending still below 5 percent of national expenditure. He also pointed to long-term structural challenges facing the country, including an aging population, technological transformation in the labor market, climate-related disasters, and the persistence of informal employment.

Opening the event, Prof. Marhumah, Dean of the Faculty of Dakwah and Communication, said the seminar reflected the faculty’s broader commitment to social justice and human dignity.

“In the evolving landscape of the global community, the welfare and protection of workers remain fundamental pillars of social progress and justice,” she said in her remarks.

She also linked the discussion to Islamic teachings on social justice, emphasizing fair compensation, humane working conditions, and protection for marginalized groups.

The seminar sought not only to expand students’ understanding of global labor protection models, organizers said, but also to encourage future social workers to engage critically with issues of inequality, workers’ rights, and social welfare policy.

The event was attended by lecturers and students from the Social Welfare Study Program, as well as representatives from various organizations, including IPSPI DIY, YSI DIY, LP3S, SPLAS Solo, Kanal Muda, SPLAM, Forkomkasi Kesos, and the Gedangsari Student Forum. The seminar was also supported by the Social Work Student Association (HMPS) of the Social Welfare Study Program.