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Indonesia:  Respecting the role of Domestic Workers in Indonesia through Legal Protection

Indonesia: Respecting the role of Domestic Workers in Indonesia through Legal Protection

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by IDWFED published May 18, 2017 12:00 AM
Contributors: Muh. Rasyidi Bakry
The perception of domestic work as easy and not valuable must change. The absence of legal protection for DWs allows employers to hire DWs for as low a wage as possible. There is an urgent need to formalize this relationship between employer and domestic worker, and to implement specific laws to protect the rights of DWs, since both employer and DWs are mutually in need of one other.

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INDONESIA -

By Muh. Rasyidi Bakry

Photo: JALA PRT

It is an undeniable fact that domestic workers (DWs) make an important contribution to the economic growth nationally and even globally. Their services allow millions of people, ranging from state officials, entrepreneurs, politicians etc. to work freely in the public sector. A simple sentence from the website of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), an organisation based in the United States, clarifies the important role of DWs: “Domestic work is the work that makes all other work possible.”

Unfortunately, that role has yet to be recognized by many parties. DWs lack legal protection; in such conditions, most of them work in very poor conditions. The International Labor Organization's data (2013) reports that of the approximately 2.6 million people who work as DWs in Indonesia, the majority of them (68%) work seven days a week without a day off — far more than 40 hours in a week which is the national and international weekly working time standard. What is more tragic is that many of them operate in conditions approaching slavery, forced to work until exhausted. They also live in very poor facilities inside the home of their employer. They do not receive decent meals, a decent bedroom and other basic needs for a live-in worker. Worse still, some of them have experienced torture and were not allowed to contact their family. These kind of stories can be easily found in the internet reported by various Indonesian media.

A residual feudal mentality, passing for old-fashioned culture, also contributes to the problem. Feudal- and sexist-minded employers still undervalue domestic work. They consider it as an unskilled job that can be done by any woman as they think most women have traditionally been considered capable of doing the housework; the skills they are taught by other women in the home are perceived to be inborn.

However, with the so-called feminisation of the workforce, the ageing of society where the ratio of older to younger people grows higher, the rise in divorce, the decline of extended family, etc., there has been a rise in demand for the services of DWs. Such conditions oblige employers to hire DWs. But without protection to the DWs and guarantees of workers' rights, these kind of jobs will remain undesirable except for those who do not have a choice.

Photo: JALA PRT
In such situations, employers hire whoever they can find as domestic workers, even if the worker is still under age and does not have any skill. The employer forgets that even ironing is not an easy job, much less baby-sitting. This is where the problems begin. Having employed a maid, the employer expects to enjoy a little peace and quiet at home, yet find their babies crying, and the house messed up. DWs are convenient to blame. Yet the employer has forgotten that it was their fault to hire someone unqualified to work in the first place. Such situations sometimes trigger acts of domestic violence where the DWs become the victim.

The perception of domestic work as easy and not valuable must change. The absence of legal protection for DWs allows employers to hire DWs for as low a wage as possible. There is an urgent need to formalize this relationship between employer and domestic worker, and to implement specific laws to protect the rights of DWs, since both employer and DWs are mutually in need of one other.

If there is a shortage of DWs, the middle class and upper class are affected, because their efficiency at work especially in the public sector is compromised. DWs indirectly contribute to economic growth; those who work as baby-sitters simultaneously provide care for our future generation.

Sarinah, who cared for the baby Sukarno, later to become the founding father and the first president of Indonesia, is a good example of what DWs do for the nation. In a biography written by Cindy Adam the founding father is quoted as expressing his admiration for his babysitter: “It was Sarinah who taught me that everything in this country depends on the commoners.” As an expression of his gratitude, Soekarno even named the first and the biggest shopping centre in Jakarta after Sarinah.
 

The legal protection of DWs in Indonesia

Photo: JALA PRT
The 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia which is the supreme law in Indonesia, has stated (article 28D -point 2) that, “Every person shall have the right to work and to receive just and proper remuneration and treatment in employment." But apparently, the noble idea is not yet applicable to domestic workers. Unlike employees in companies, the majority of DWs are not able to enjoy their basic rights as workers: a decent salary, rights of leave, social protection, pension fund, etc.

In addition, in the Law No. 13 of 2003 on Manpower it is clearly defined that the "worker" is "a person who works for a wage or other form of remuneration". At this point, it is clear that DWs is categorised as worker. The problems arise because of the different interpretations of the fact that there are two terms of employer used in the Act — "entrepreneur" and " personal employer.” "Entrepreneurs” are subject to all the obligations to fulfil all the basic rights of workers (decent wage, leave, Social Security, etc.) while the "employer" only bear a general obligation to provide "protection for the welfare of workers, safety and health, both mental and physical "(Article 35). "Employers" of domestic workers are not considered to have the same obligation as an "entrepreneur" in terms of fulfilling all the basic rights of domestic workers. As a result, the DW relies heavily on the personal attitude and generosity of their employers.

At the national level, the Ministry of Manpower has actually enacted the Ministry of Manpower Regulations No. 2 / 2015 aimed at protecting the rights of DWs. The Minister of Manpower, Mr. Hanif Dhakiri, in one of his interviews regarding the regulation even bragged that it was better than ILO Convention on 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers. Yet, because regulation is merely a sort of moral imperative and has no binding strength, it has not brought significant improvement to the lives of DWs.

At the ILO’s 100th Labour Conference where the ILO Convention No 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers was being adopted, then-President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in his speech, stated, “[...] those domestic workers who work within their own countries must also be given the same protection. Thus, this Convention will help us formulate effective national legislation and regulations for this purpose.” Yet up to now the convention has not yet been ratified and the bill of DWs protection which has languished in Parliament for more than 12 years has not yet been passed.

DWs and their supporters ought to challenge the Law No. 13 of 2003 on manpower by submitting a judicial review to the Constitutional Court. The challenge should focus on Article 35 of the Law which does not oblige personal employer to afford complete basic rights to their employee as in the case of entrepreneurs. The article should be nullified since it is in obvious conflict with the article 28D-point 2 of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. At the same time, DWs should continue to urge the government and parliament to enact the bill for the protection of domestic workers.



Muh. Rasyidi Bakry is
South Sulawesi Provincial Coordinator
of International Labor Organization (ILO) Promote Project.

The above views are personal.





Source: Muh. Rasyidi Bakry

Story Type: News

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