The ILO representative, Ms. Heejin Ahn from ILO Bangkok presented on decent work and the social and solidarity economy at a policy paper dissemination hybrid event “Encouraging Inclusive & Responsible Business by Strengthening Civil Society Organisations’ Involvement” on 21 February 2024 in Jakarta.

The event brought together government officials, civil society organizations, researchers and other relevant actors to discuss ways to strengthen policies around business and human rights and promote inclusive and responsible businesses in Indonesia. Dr. Eri Trinurini presented highlights from an International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) study on Inclusive & Responsible Business by strengthening the involvement of Civil Society Organizations.

She noted that Indonesia has taken important steps to strengthen the implementation of responsible business practices and conduct. Dr Trinurini pointed out that the Indonesian government adapted the Presidential Regulation No. 60/2023 on Business and Human Rights. The Regulation highlights the commitment of Indonesian government and businesses to protect and respect human rights as stipulated by international instrument of United Nation’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as well as the ILO’s Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy. She also added that Indonesia is supporting the adoption of the draft legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises.

Heejin Ahn, Technical Officer in ILO Bangkok remarked in her presentation that while the social and solidarity economy (SSE) has similar features to inclusive business (IB) and inclusive and responsible business (IRB), they are distinct in that the social and solidarity economy entities prioritize people and social purpose over capital, are collectively owned and practice participatory governance, and promote social and political empowerment of disadvantaged and marginalized groups.

Ms. Ahn shared insights on how actors in the different ecosystems can learn and collaborate with each other to achieve dual goals: resilient, sustainable, and inclusive development and respect for human rights and decent work for all. Ms. Ahn suggested six pathways such as, IB and IRB actors can adopt SSE principles and values to facilitate companies’ transition from traditional to more inclusive models; partner with SSE entities to uphold human and labour rights in their operations and promote decent work in the value chains; encourage partnership to unlock public support and private investment; build evidence base to capture economic, social and environmental impacts and translate and implement global and regional commitment through national, regional and local strategies, policies and programming.

The Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs representative highlighted how actors interact with and collaborate in the value chains, for instance when mid-to-large businesses source products or services from MSMEs, cooperatives or social enterprises as upstream suppliers, or use them as downstream distributors of finished goods. She stressed that businesses’ mindset should be shifted from compliance to voluntary cooperation, for businesses to appreciate the inherent value in respecting human rights due diligence and integration of decent work and social and environmental considerations in their business operations.

The representative from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights shared progress on the implementation of the Presidential Regulation such as establishing task force in each region, led by the governor to implement regulations at regional, provincial or city levels. The event served to advance the policy dialogue and advocacy efforts towards strengthening the business and human rights policy in Indonesia.