Law No. 13 of 2003 on Manpower
Undang-Undang Nomor 13 Tahun 2003 tentang Ketenagakerjaan
What this regulation does
Plain-English summary of the regulation's substance and how it affects PT PMA operations.
UU 13/2003 is Indonesia's foundational employment statute, governing the relationship between employers and workers including foreign-worker employment. For PMA operations the relevant provisions are: Article 42 requiring foreign workers to obtain RPTKA (Foreign Worker Employment Plan) approval and IMTA (Foreign Worker Permit) before commencing work; Article 43 establishing that foreign workers may only fill positions designated as open to foreign employment; Article 44 requiring foreign workers to be paired with an Indonesian counterpart for skill transfer; severance and termination rules that govern PT PMA workforce management; and the framework for outsourcing, fixed-term contracts, and minimum wages. Substantially amended by UU 11/2020 (Cipta Kerja) and UU 6/2023 — the OSS-RBA-era version of the law is what currently applies. Cited on the kbli.co.id /resources/kitas-work-permit and /id/resources/izin-tenaga-kerja-asing pages, and on every KBLI page where foreign-worker permitting is part of the licensing flow.
Key provisions
The articles and operational points most commonly referenced in practice.
- 01
Article 42 — RPTKA requirement
Foreign workers must have an approved RPTKA (Rencana Penggunaan Tenaga Kerja Asing) and IMTA (Izin Mempekerjakan Tenaga Kerja Asing) before commencing work in Indonesia.
- 02
Article 43 — Restricted positions
Foreign workers may only fill positions that are not designated as restricted to Indonesian nationals. Director and Commissioner roles for PMAs are typically open.
- 03
Article 44 — Skill transfer
Each foreign worker must have an Indonesian counterpart for skill transfer; this is also a periodic reporting obligation.
- 04
Severance + termination
Statutory severance pay, long-service pay, and rights compensation for terminations are codified — substantively amended by UU 11/2020.
Official text
For compliance and dispute work, cite the original Indonesian text directly.
Undang-Undang Nomor 13 Tahun 2003 tentang Ketenagakerjaan
tentang Ketenagakerjaan
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