Social Worker Constitution Plan Legitimation by the House of Representatives

JAKARTA (September 3, 2019) – The Plenary Meetings of the House of Representatives of Republic of Indonesia finally Validated the Bill of Social Worker (RUU Peksos) to become a constitution. Therefore, for the first time in history, Indonesia has law on Social Worker.

The Social Affairs Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita welcoming the validation of law on Social Worker by the House of Representatives. He said that, the legitimation of law on Social Worker is the country’s responsibility on the increase of social welfare development management quality.

“With the presence of this law as legal protection, the role and function of social worker will be optimized, as well as to be a formal legal mandate and protection for social worker in implementing the social work practice,” said the Social Affairs Minister in his speech on Plenary Meetings of the House of Representatives Republic of Indonesia in order to take the Level II Discussion to take the decision of Bill on Social Worker, at the House of Representatives Complex, Jakarta, Tuesday (03/09/2019).

The Plenary Meetings of the House of Representatives Republic of Indonesia leads by Utut Adianto, accompanied with Bambang Soesatyo and Fadli Zon. Attend to accompany the Social Affairs Minister, Special Staff of the Minister, the Secretary General Hartono Laras, all of Echelon I and II officials. Also attend in Republic of Indonesia Plenary room balcony all of social workers, academics, college student, the representatives from a number of Technical Implementation Unit from the Ministry of Social Affairs, MoSA’s Employee, and the representatives from public who cares on the social welfare development agenda.

Furthermore, the Social Affairs Minister stated that the existence of social worker had important role in social welfare development efforts. “The social worker has real contributions towards the fulfillment of basic rights on Social Welfare Service Recipients (PPKS),” said the Social Affairs Minister.

Social workers, he said, also give a real contribution in providing the directed, integrated, and sustainable Professional Service to prevent social dysfunction, provides social protection service, and also to restore and improve social functionality for PPKS.

A law protection as a formal legal mandate towards the social worker's existence and a protection is needed to optimize the social worker's role and function in implementing their practice.

Moreover, the Social Affairs Minister said, the urgency of this law is also connected with the existence of foreign social workers who conduct social work practice in Indonesia due to the fact that they are not recorded yet, not monitored yet, and/or not have a social work practice license.

“Therefore, this law is important to protect the people from the possibility of social work malpractice and from the foreign ideology infiltration which threaten the nation and country by the foreign social worker,” he said.

In different opportunity, Hartono Laras stated that, this law consisted of 69 sections where the total of 38 sections is specialized to social worker, and 28 sections on social work practice.

“The law’s spirit is to provide the protection and improve the social worker’s service. And in turns, it will provide a bigger benefit for public,” he said.

Hartono conveys his gratitude because law on social worker is finally legitimized now despite the existence of social worker practice since 1958. “It is appeared as an obsession on 2012, delayed, and realized in nowadays,” he said.

Since January 2018, Social Affairs Minister said, the House of Representatives proposed the initiative plan related to Bill on Social worker and been done on August 2018. “If the House of Representative’s duty period of 2014 – 2019 can be done very well, it happened because of the same spirit between stakeholder,” said the Secretary General.

Therefore, Hartono say thanks to all parties who contributed, like the Ministry of Home Affairs; Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education; Ministry of Law and Human Rights; Ministry of Industry and Transmigration, the social worker itself, academics from 30 college who had a Social Welfare program study.

“Academic community of Politeknik Kesejahteraan Sosial Bandung is included. They guarded (the law) with full of dedication and arrange the reference from various countries because there is not many countries that has law on Social Worker,” he said.

Moreover, the Ministry of Social Affairs will move quickly follow up the dissemination agenda to a number of parties. MoSA also has obligation to arrange one government regulation draft and nine government regulations. “There are also inside the sections which can be implemented immediately,” said Hartono.

In his report, the leader of Commission VIII of the House of Representative Republic of Indonesia Ali Taher Parasong deliverd his speech with a shaky voice. He said that the presence of law on social worker was a forward step in building professional social worker source.

“The birth of this law can push the social worker’s contribution and role in social welfare development management on the country,” said by Ali Taher, welcomed by a long applause from the visitor balcony in the plenary room of the House of Representative.

After the Meetings, the Social Affairs Minister move towards the KK II room. In here, there are hundreds of social welfare study program students from many colleges around the country. The Minister asked to give a greeting related to legitimation of the law on social work.

The Social Affairs minister persuades the students to be grateful and not forget to give a real contribution in the social welfare development. The Minister also persuades the students to express their appreciation to the House of Representatives who had guarded the birth of this law

Public Relation Bureau

Ministry of Social Affairs Republic of Indonesia