The Urgency of Regulating the Right to Strike for Medical Staff and Healthcare Workers from an Ethical and Legal Perspective

Abstract

Abstract The rights of doctor and health workers to employment, a decent standard of living, and legal protection are guaranteed under Articles 27 and 28 of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and Health Law No. 17 of 2023 on Health. In reality, however, there is inequality in the fulfillment of these rights, and strikes are carried out as a means of advocating for them. Under Law No. 13 of 2013 on Labor, strikes by doctor and healthcare workers are not yet regulated in detail, and thus the law is deemed unable to provide strong legal protection for these workers. This study aims to analyze the need for regulations on the right to strike for doctor and health workers, determine the wording of legal provisions regarding the right to strike, and analyze the types of legislation governing this right. This is a normative legal study, employing data collection through literature review and a normative-qualitative analysis method. Several conclusions were drawn from this study. First, the right to strike for medical and healthcare workers needs to be regulated in clear legal provisions to ensure legal certainty and protection. Second, an amendment to the wording of Article 139 of Law No. 13 of 2003 on Manpower—specifically, the addition of implementing regulations regarding strikes by doctor and healthcare workers—is necessary as the basis for implementing the provisions of the Law. Third, the Minister of Health Regulation governing strikes by doctor and healthcare workers is considered an ideal form of regulation for ensuring legal certainty and legal protection for doctor and healthcare workers, while also protecting patients’ rights during strikes. Keywords: strike, doctor, healthcare workers, laws and regulations