The Indonesian and Swiss governments announced an agreement to strengthen cooperation in employment programmes, decent work and trade unions.

The agreement, which was made via an amendment to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) renewal, includes tripartite cooperation and potential collaboration between the two countries.

The MoU renewal was signed by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Manpower, Anwar Sanusi, and the Head of the Labour Directorate State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) Switzerland.

"We agreed to amend this MoU so that the proposed activities can be carried out by the two countries, in response to changes in the structure and global dynamics of employment,” said Secretary General of the Ministry of Manpower, Anwar Sanusi. “In this roadmap, we want to encourage tripartite cooperation not only between the Indonesian government and the Swiss government, but also involve employers. Indonesia and Swiss employers, as well as Indonesian workers' groups and Swiss working groups.”

Sanusi explained that the Indonesian and Swiss governments had set three topics and priorities in the amendments to this MoU, namely related to social dialogue, productivity and decent work, and economic development cooperation.

In terms of social dialogue, the governments of Indonesia and Switzerland agreed to increase the role of social partners (trade unions and employers), and be involved in the design of labour policies, organisation and representation. In addition, they also want to increase the capacity and ability of social partners in conducting collective bargaining.

"This collaboration will improve the skills of social partners, including negotiation skills, negotiations, and a good understanding of mediation and conciliation. We hope that there will be an exchange of knowledge between experts from the two countries," said Sanusi.

The second topic is related to productivity and decent work, which focuses on promoting increased productivity and business sustainability.

"In this case, we want to create a framework that ensures the labour market functions properly, including upgrading employment service centres,” Sanusi added. “In addition, we want to initiate skills-related measures so that people can adapt to the structure and dynamics of the workforce.”

The third topic of economic development cooperation hopes to create employment programs that create wider and more sustainable employment opportunities.

"We want to accelerate the increase in competitiveness so that business actors can compete at the international level," said Anwar.

The meeting also discussed issues of protection for digital and gig workers, vocational training in Switzerland and Indonesia, social dialogue, agreements for professional labour exchanges, and the development of economic cooperation in the palm oil and garment sectors.

Originally this MoU would expire in June 2024, however, Indonesia and Switzerland have agreed to renew and extend the MoU. Therefore, the two countries will hold further discussions at the 4th Joint Working Group meeting where Indonesia will be the host.