UNAIR NEWS – Dr. M. Hadi Subhan, SH., MH., CN., was trusted by Leiden University, Holland to be a dissertation examiner. Hadi was in a cross-national committee of seven, to question a dissertation Labour Law and Development in Indonesia. He was the only examiner from Indonesia appointed by Leiden University to be in the committee of dissertation defence examination on Thursday, February 4.

“This doctoral student wrote about Labour Law in Indonesia. As he wrote about Labour Law in Indonesia, Leiden University needed Labour Law expert from Indonesia. From a few names, I was one of them,” Hadi said.

Hadi was appointed as an examiner because of his experience, track record, performance and works he had made in Indonesia, especially on labour. The examination was open to public, attended by approximately a hundred people of the academicians of Leiden University from doctoral students to professors.

Initially, promoter of the doctoral student sent an invitation letter to Hadi to be in the committee. The examination committee is to read, evaluate and assess a dissertation paper. From the notes and reviews done, all inputs from the commission will be sustained in an open examination called a PhD Defence.

From seven cross-national examiners, Hadi was honoured by asking the first question to the doctoral student, and he was also the only examiner who was able to ask two questions. The honor of being the first to ask was based on the substantial and relevance of the question to the dissertation material.

“It means that UNAIR has been acknowledged by top universities in Europe. Leiden is number one university in Holland,” said Hadi who is also UNAIR Director of Student Affairs.
Other qualification which made Leiden University chose Hadi as the examiner from Indonesia was his academic performance, his routine as a speaker in forums related with labour law, his activeness writing in mass media, also his advocacy for the labour.

The dissertation belonged to Surya Tjandra, one of the lecturers of Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta. His dissertation on Indonesian labour reviewed the roles of labour unions which demand affirmative policies. From the research, he found a positive correlation between labour struggle and government policies.

“The more labour unions struggle, the more policies made give affirmation to the labours, for example on minimum wage and social security. So social security services enjoyed by all Indonesians, BPJS Kesehatan and Ketenagakerjaan were fruit of the labours’ hard work. Minimum wage policy was also an achievement of labour unions,” Hadi said.

Previously, many of Hadi’s researches were related to Indonesian labour. Some of them have been implemented such as Minimum Regency and City Sectoral Wage (UMS). East Java has adopted the minimum sectoral wage based on Hadi’s idea.

In addition, Hadi also studied on products which have to be issued by the governor in order to determine minimum wage. Prior to this, the minimum wage was determined based on Governor Decree. Hadi’s research implemented in the society was minimum wage determined by Governor Regulation. Those two works of his were adopted by the society.

Many lessons and experiences Hadi got from being a dissertation examiner in Leiden. One of them was on Holland’s legal review which focused on its direct usefulness to the society.
“Legal researches in Leiden were not based on social norms, but also based on the society. That’s the good thing we can adopt. What is the point of law if it doesn’t look at the society? While later the object and the subject of the law was the people itself. (*)

Author: Binti Q Masruroh.
Editor: Defrina Sukma S.