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Throughout September, EuroCham attended two in-person meetings organized by APINDO, in collaboration with the other chambers and associations, as part of a joint effort to bring employer and investor perspectives into the government's revision of the Employment Protection Bill (RUU Pelindungan Ketenagakerjaan). The bill, which is targeted for enactment on 8 October 2026, will shape employer-employee relations, employee benefits and business practices for Indonesian and foreign companies alike.

The meetings highlighted that the revision of the bill tends to favour more from the perspective of the workers than the employer .EuroCham's position is that a well-balanced law that protects workers while keeping Indonesia predictable and competitive for investment serves both employees and employers and supports the pace of job creation. The meetings underlined concerns that the current direction may not yet reflect enough employer input, and that this could affect Indonesia's investment climate.

APINDO is running an active public-opinion and media campaign, arguing that the case for a balanced law needs to be made publicly, not just negotiated privately, because it affects not only employers but the pace of job creation itself. APINDO explicitly asked every association and chamber, including EuroCham, to help build and amplify this narrative in the coming week, including offering to coordinate our members' access to media channels to increase the outreach of our advocacy to the general public.

EuroCham Indonesia's Cosmetics Sub-Working Group convened a cross-sector meeting with representatives from our Automotive, Chemical, and Agriculture, Food & Beverage Working Groups to assess the impact of two newly issued BPJPH regulations, Regulation No. 3 of 2026 on the Inclusion of Non-Halal Statements and Regulation No. 4 of 2026 on the Conformity Assurance of Foreign Halal Products, on Indonesia's halal certification framework.

The session emphasised the need for cross-sector collaboration and coordinated advocacy as the 17 October 2026 compliance deadline approaches. Members discussed sector-specific impacts, shared concerns over limited public consultation in the drafting process, and agreed on a joint action plan.

Following the meeting, EuroCham formally submitted its recommendations on both regulations, to Mr. Sugeng Raharjo, Director of Implementation System for Standards and Conformity Assessment at Indonesia's National Standardization Agency (BSN), and to the European Commission's DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (Unit GROW A3), highlighting concerns on regulatory certainty, conformity assessment requirements for foreign products, and the need for clear, practical implementation arrangements, in support of a predictable and trade-friendly halal assurance system.

We thank our members and partner Working Groups for their input, and remain committed to constructive engagement with policymakers on behalf of the European business community in Indonesia.