Indonesian Journalists Seek Better Pay and Protection Amid Declining Democracy

This story by Arpan Rachman originally appeared on Global Voices on December 7, 2025.

This report was written and produced with support from the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The content is the sole responsibility of the author and the publisher.

Journalists facing legal issues in Indonesia have the same rights as workers in other industries. The labor dispute process starts with mediation between the company and the worker. If no agreement is reached, the next step is a tripartite process with the Manpower Office. There, a mediator makes a recommendation.

Taufiqurrohman, who previously worked with CNN Indonesia and is now publishing podcasts twice a week, explains the process:

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Taufiqurrohman and thirteen colleagues were fired by Trans Media Corpora after forming a union on August 27, 2024. Eight of them retaliated by suing the TV station. Trans Media Corpora has filed an appeal, so both parties must wait another 155 days. This ten-month dispute has left Taufiqurrohman and his colleagues struggling to feed their families. To make ends meet, Taufiqurrohman has started working as a taxi driver.

He said journalists in contention with media companies are entitled to Social Security benefits to cover living expenses for unemployed workers. He says that, though workers were to be paid wages until the final legal decision on their termination, he has received nothing. The judge denied the applicant’s request for an interim injunction regarding wages.

Global Voices reached out to CNN Indonesia and Trans Media Corpora for their comments on this issue, but received no response.

In another case, Bethriq Kindy Arrazy and five other journalists were fired from Pinusi without notice from the publisher, PT Portal Media Nusantara. The employer has proposed going to court to resolve the disagreement. “The Press Council should have conducted factual verification of the media’s conditions,” Arrazy suggested.

When media companies and dismissed journalists have legal disputes, the Press Council does not intervene because it lacks jurisdiction. Noting that labor issues in media companies harm professionalism and press freedom, Abdul Manan, chair of the Press Council’s Legal and Legislation Commission, said:

Indonesia lacks strict laws requiring media companies to protect journalists’ labor rights. The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) has reported many cases of media companies violating journalists’ rights. Edi Faisol, head of the Labor Division at the AJI, said:

He explained that due to ongoing challenges in the media ecosystem, layoffs have long been an issue and have worsened in recent years. He also examined a study on salary and working conditions to investigate the exploitation of freelance journalists in Indonesia.

According to Faisol, some journalists are not paid enough to cover basic expenses. Others work as freelancers or partners. He added:

Faisol says AJI is working to protect journalists as workers. They met with the Ministry of Manpower to discuss the issue and find ways to ensure compliance with regulations.

Media companies are required to adhere to labor laws and treat their journalists fairly, but many are indifferent. Why did this situation happen? Ikhsan Raharjo, Chairman of the Media and Creative Industries Workers Union (SINDIKASI), said Indonesia’s controversial Job Creation Law has worsened the situation.

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On October 31, 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled to invalidate the labor clauses in the Job Creation Law. The judges ordered lawmakers to pass a new Labor Law within two years of the ruling.

Raharjo hopes the new law will address technological changes and the needs of freelance journalists, which the previous law did not. He also believes strengthening unions in media companies is crucial:

SINDIKASI is working to protect freelance journalists by negotiating Collective Labor Agreements. They have encouraged media companies to set rules for hiring freelancers. This ensures basic employment requirements are met.

The first step was signed on November 9, 2022. Of the three existing agreements, “We estimate that more than two hundred freelance journalists and interns at media companies have benefited,” said Raharjo.

However, he has not observed transparent communication, fair severance pay, or support measures like job placement, retraining, or counseling to help journalists find jobs after layoffs.

In several cases, they also encountered other issues. Many journalists were laid off by their companies. SINDIKASI later learned these companies had not paid their Social Security dues for several years. If the companies had paid regularly, the workers would have been able to collect their savings benefits upon termination.

Raharjo asserted:

At least 1,200 media workers were dismissed between 2023 and 2024, according to the Press Council. The AJI shows that 10 media outlets let go of more than 885 workers by July 2025.

With the fourth pillar of democracy shaken, the Southeast Asian archipelago is facing a turning point. The Economist Intelligence Unit 2025 report gives Indonesia a democracy index score of 6.44 out of 10, labeling it a flawed democracy. The past decade shows a downward trend, with the lowest scores in political culture and civil liberties.

Indonesia ranks 127th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, down 16 places from the previous year. Even without significant media outlet closures in 2024, news media still lost advertising revenue.

The Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report (2025) found that 57 percent of people get news from online and social media platforms like WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. TikTok is also rising as a news source, reaching 34 percent. Many Indonesians are unwilling to pay for news — only 18 percent currently pay for online news — adding to the financial challenges.

Raharjo said that amid the country’s changing media landscape, the welfare of journalists should be taken into consideration when engaging with tech platforms:

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