In this era where employees are free to organize their own labor unions, industrial relations issues have become a topic of heated debate, especially as new bills on “The Development and Protection of the Workforce” (RUU PPK) and “Industrial Relations Dispute Resolutions” (RUU PPHI) are soon to be ratified. We would like to raise the issue of industrial relations as the main topic for this edition.

Questions often asked about industrial relations in Indonesia after the freedom to organize era include: What do industrial relations mean according to the present legislation, and how are they practiced? What are industrial relations on the enterprise level like, and how are they used to resolve disputes? SMERU's research findings are presented in the column From the Field. In order to provide an overview of the topic we have included an article on the basic principles of industrial relations by Bp. Suwarto, the Chairperson of the Indonesian Industrial Relations Association. In addition, a data analysis review has been included in the article on wage policy in the context of the RUU PPK.

Still in an effort to understand the implementation of the regional autonomy policy, SMERU's Decentralization and Local Governance Division has written about the disturbances to the business climate after regional autonomy. Finally, we would like to share with you some of the highlights from our workshop on “NGO and Public Accountability” held in Yogyakarta.