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June 12, 2020

Indonesia Issues Workplace Guidelines in Preparation for Reopening

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Two government agencies in Indonesia have issued guidelines that employers and employees should follow to ensure their workplaces can reopen and operate safely.

The National Agency of Drug and Food Control has issued health and safety guidelines titled “Everything About COVID-19, Prevent COVID-19, Health for All,” with recommendations for social distancing, ventilation, cleaning, mask wearing, and other personal hygiene practices.

Other detailed guidelines are in the Decree of the Minister of Health No. HK.01.07/MENKES/328/2020 on Guidelines to Prevent and Mitigate Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Office and Industrial Workplaces in an Effort to Support Business Continuation on a Pandemic Situation, and in Circular No. HK.02.01/MENKES/335/2020 Re: Protocol for the Prevention of Transmission of the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) in Workplaces in Services and Trade Sectors (Public Areas) in an Effort to Support Business Continuation.

These detailed guidelines include the following requirements:

  • All workers must wear face masks during their commutes and at work.
  • All visitors must wear face masks.
  • Employers must provide adequate hand washing facilities that are easily accessible.
  • Employers must ensure that workers understand how they can prevent COVID-19 transmission.
  • Workers and visitors who have any symptoms of COVID-19 may not enter the workplace.
  • Workers classified as persons under monitoring and who are suspected of possible infection will have to undergo quarantine and isolation. Wages are to be paid in full during this period, and worker rights such as social security must also continune uninterrupted.
  • There must be a separate area or room for the observation of symptomatic workers during screening.
  • Under certain conditions, workplaces with the proper resources may be able to facilitate quarantine or isolation sites in accordance with the guidelines found at http://www.covid19.go.id.
  • All work areas must be cleaned every four hours using appropriate cleaners and disinfectants (particularly door handles, stairs, elevator buttons, shared office equipment, areas, etc.).
  • Information must be posted to remind workers, vistitors, and customers to observe physical distancing, hand washing (or sanitizing), and mask wearing.
  • Workplace air quality should be optimized with consideration for air circulation, natural lighting, and cleaning air-conditioning filters.
  • Minimize customer contact by using borders and partitions, and by encouraging the use of non-cash, contactless payment methods.
  • One day before going to the workplace, all workers must carry out a COVID-19 self-assessment.
  • Body temperature screening must be set up at each entry point to the workplace.
  • Physical distancing must be observed at all times (e.g., workers should be one meter apart, the number of workers should be limited, and workers should not gather in public areas or in close queues).
  • Floor markings, posters, or banners should be used as visual aids.
  • For workplaces in high-rise buildings, positioning within elevators should be clearly marked on the floor, and stairwell traffic should be separated between ascending and descending—in separate stairwells if possible, or else by establishing dedicated lanes within the stairwell.
  • Customer and client occupancy numbers should be limited by controlling customer entry and implementing a properly spaced queuing system at the entrance, indicating traffic and positioning with floor markings, taking orders online or by telephone (and fulfilling through delivery or take-away when possible), and regulating service hours in accordance with local and regional laws and regulations
  • If possible, special transportation to and from the workplace should be provided to workers. A team to monitor workers’ health should be created to ensure that workers complete the COVID-19 self-assessment form before coming to work, monitor workers with suspected symptoms during work, and ensure that workers returning from an at-risk area self- quarantine at home for 14 days, monitoring for symptoms and checking body temperature twice a day.

Tilleke & Gibbins will continue to update our clients on Indonosia’s handling of the COVID-19 situation. For more details on these guidelines or any aspect of the country’s response to the crisis, please contact Tilleke & Gibbins’s Jakarta office at [email protected] or +6221 2971 8088.

 

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