Indonesia’s Ministry of Manpower has issued a new directive calling on employers to eliminate age limits from job advertisements, as part of efforts to address hiring discrimination and improve labour market access for older job seekers. The circular, signed recently, applies to both domestic and foreign companies and includes recruitment for people with disabilities. Age criteria will only be permitted if it is essential to the role and does not unfairly exclude applicants.
Deputy Minister of Manpower Immanuel Ebenezer said the move aims to dismantle barriers that reinforce poverty and unemployment. With over 7 million Indonesians currently unemployed, older candidates often face the steepest hurdles to reentering the workforce.
While the circular is not legally binding, it signals growing government scrutiny and may lead to stronger enforcement. Labour unions welcomed the directive as a step toward more inclusive hiring but urged the government to formalise it through binding regulation. Employer groups, meanwhile, expressed concern about the potential administrative burden and higher applicant volumes.
The initiative aligns with President Prabowo Subianto’s broader labour policy agenda. Recent changes include banning employers from holding workers’ original diplomas, a practice seen to limit mobility, and drafting new regulations to curb hiring bias based on personal attributes such as appearance, religion, or marital status.
Indonesia joins regional efforts to combat employment discrimination, following similar legal reforms in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. A ministerial regulation, currently in development, may soon introduce sanctions for companies that continue discriminatory hiring practices.