ICC Will Inquire the Executive Management of Pre-Employment Card Program Pertaining To The Program Operator Appointment Process.

The Pre-employment Card Program constitutes a work competence development program aimed at job seekers, workers/laborers affected by layoffs and/or workers/laborers in need of competence upgrading. The program has been provided for by virtue of Presidential Regulation Number 36 Year 2020 regarding the Development of Work Competence through Pre-employment Card Program, along with the implementing regulation thereof, Regulation of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy of the Republic of Indonesia Number 3 Year 2020.

ICC Spokesperson, Guntur S. Saragih, explained that Indonesia Competition Commission (ICC) through its Directorate of Advocacy will inquire the Executive Management as the implementing unit of the Pre-employment Card Program. This is to implement the preventive function of ICC through the issuance of policy recommendations. There are at least 5 (five) focuses of attention in the program:

1. Process for determining business actors involved
   ICC and the public need to know if the pro tem results of the 8 (eight) elected program operator digital platforms constitute the results of fair business competition processes in accordance with the norm of Law No. 5 Year 1999. This is important to know in guaranteeing the existence of fair business competition for every business actor wishing to compete and contribute to the program.

2. Access to entering the market
   The enormity of the potential market value of this program is IDR 5.6 trillion and in short, the execution of the program raises a question about what the mechanism for giving opportunities to business actors is other than those announced in order to be capable of having the opportunity to enter the market. The above condition provides the widest possible opportunities for many business actors to obtain the opportunity to take part in business competition.

3. Access to entering the market for digital platform partners
   Currently, there are many institutions capable of conducting business activities in the form of online and offline training. Consequently, the assessment (or curation) process that must be conducted toward training institutions to be eligible as partners of the Pre-employment Card Program through registration with digital platforms must be conducted in ways that promote fair business competition. Therefore, it is necessary to know if the applicable mechanism still promotes transparency, professionalism, and quality of training, so that wider opportunities are open for potential partners of the Pre-employment Card Program interested in participating and not merely limited to a few Partners.

4. Protection of business actors acting as partners of digital platforms in terms of partnership
   In accordance with the mandate of Law No. 20 Year 2008 regarding Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the duty of ICC is to supervise partnership between large businesses and non-large businesses. Therefore, it is necessary that the Executive Management of the pre-employment card program regulate employment relationships between digital platforms (large businesses) and training institutions (small or medium businesses) in order to prevent exploitation or abuse of bargaining position by large companies.

5. Business actors concurrently serving as both digital platform and Training Institution
   The role of a dominant digital platform can potentially provide a favorable policy for a training institution that it owns or is affiliated therewith. Therefore, it is important to have a mechanism that can prevent discriminatory treatment by digital platforms toward training institutions.

In order to achieve the desired objectives of the pre-employment card program, ICC encourages Government policies to adopt the principles of fair business competition. ICC believes that public welfare can be realized through fair competition by various business actors involved, even in emergency situation of Covid-19 pandemic.