JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, welcomed the issuance of the Circular (SE) of the Minister of Manpower Number M / 5 / HK.04.00 / V / 2025 which prohibits companies from detaining employees' diplomas and personal documents. Puan reminded that the circular must be accompanied by strict supervision and sanctions for companies that violate.
Puan assessed that this prohibition policy was a small step that had been awaited for a long time to stop the practices of violations in the world of work. Because according to him, the detention of employee diplomas is not only a matter of law, but also aggravating the dignity of Indonesian workers.
"The detention of diplomas is a form of systematic impoverishment of workers. This is not only a matter of violating the company's ethics, but a structural issue that has been silenced because of the weakness of regulatory alignment with workers," said Puan, Friday, May 23.
As is known, in Circular Number M / 5 / HK.04.00 / V / 2025 issued by the Minister of Manpower (Menaker) Yassierli on Tuesday, May 20, the company is now prohibited from holding employee diplomas.
Not only diplomas, the government also prohibits companies from holding private worker documents such as competency certificates, passports, birth certificates, marriage books, and books for motor vehicle owners.
The government also asks business owners not to prevent their employees from getting a more decent job. This rule also reminds workers to really read work agreement letters when they want to start work, especially those that emphasize diplomas or personal documents to be detained.
Even so, it turns out that the government still provides loopholes for companies to secure employee diplomas with certain conditions. For example, the diploma and/or competency certificates are obtained through education and training financed by employers based on written work agreements.
However, companies are required to ensure the safety of certificates and/or competency certificates that are stored and provide compensation to workers if the diploma or competency certificate is damaged or lost.
Puan also highlighted how the practice of document detention often occurs in sectors with lower middle education workers, including factory workers, migrant workers, and contract workers. Where in many cases, workers are forced to submit diplomas as a condition for working without the clarity of the agreement or legal protection.
"Don't let the relationship be colored by the practice of this kind of psychological lock. If workers don't have access to their own personal documents, how can they change jobs, move up career levels, or even just seek justice?" said Puan.
For this reason, the former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture emphasized that the SE issued by the Minister of Manpower must be accompanied by strict supervision in the field. Puan encouraged the Ministry of Manpower together with the regional manpower office to immediately conduct inspections on companies that are still carrying out the practice of detention of diplomas, especially in industrial areas and labor-intensive zones.
"If it only stops at the circular, without strict supervision and sanctions, this will be a dead document," he said.
"The DPR RI through the relevant Commission will also ask the Ministry of Manpower to continue to submit periodic reports regarding its implementation," continued Puan.
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Puan stated that the DPR is committed to continuing to oversee the protection of workers' rights, including fighting for practices like this to be strictly regulated through strongly strengthened rules.
"Workers or laborers are citizens who have the right to justice, social mobility, and legal protection," said the PDIP legislator for the Central Java electoral district.
"If the state allows the practice of detaining worker documents to occur, it means that the state does not guarantee workers' rights which are the constitutional mandate," concluded Puan.
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