Publications – Indonesia

Indonesia in the Global Financial Crisis: What HR Managers Need to Know

By Ames Gross and Andrew Connor
March 2009
Published in SHRM Global HR Forum

In 2003, five years after the fall of Indonesia’s autocratic late President Suharto, the first democratically elected Parliament passed a wide-sweeping labor law that gave workers many benefits, including the freedom to organize.

Since then, the government has encouraged foreign investment while avoiding angering organized labor or employers. However, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has found it increasingly difficult to stand up to labor interests. In 2006, he was forced to withdraw his attempt to amend the labor law after unions objected. The global financial crisis has exacerbated these basic labor tensions in Indonesia, and HR managers of multinational companies should be aware of resulting shifts in wage and labor policies.

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Indonesia HR Update - 2006

By Ames Gross and Andrew Connor
November 2006

With a population over 245 million, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world. The Indonesian economy suffered severe setbacks in 2004 and 2005, due largely to the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. Currency instability, inflation, and interest rate increases have all plagued the Indonesian economy in the past year. Nonetheless, GDP growth in 2005 was at its highest levels in ten years. As a growing economy, Indonesia has seen increased foreign investment in recent years. This article provides valuable information relevant to HR managers at foreign firms in Indonesia, including updates on recent labor trends, personal income taxes, and industrial disputes.

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Human Resources in Indonesia

By Ames Gross
Summer 1997
By Pacific Bridge, Inc.

Over the past several years, Indonesia’s economy has experienced rapid growth. Indonesia increased its per capita GNP 1000% between 1967 and 1993 – from $70 to $700.

Indonesia ’s robust economic growth was initially stimulated by its government policies. In 1986, following a sharp decline in oil prices, the government initiated a structured deregulation package. The package allowed the government to stabilize and adjust the Indonesian economic structure through the use of strict fiscal policy, deregulation and institutional reform. As a result, Indonesia experienced a boom in both domestic and foreign investments that propelled the economy on a path of rapid export-oriented labor-intensive growth

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