“I woke up at 4:15 a.m.,” Asma said. “I was exhausted when I went to sleep at 10 p.m. I only had five minutes’ rest … I did not get any days off [or] salary.” Asma is one of an estimated 1.8 million women and girls in Indonesia who engage in domestic work, one of the largest sources of employment for rural women in the country. Her story — too real for too many — transcends national boundaries, resonating with the more than 52 million maids, nannies and caregivers worldwide whose labor is essential to the households they serve.
But domestic workers in Indonesia do more than cook, clean and care for their employers’ families. Their labor is also essential to Indonesia’s national economy, and yet the government is not protecting them.
Indonesia, like many other countries in Asia and the Middle East, excludes domestic workers — or pembantu rumah tangga — from its national labor laws. This leaves their work largely unregulated and denies domestic workers access to basic rights enjoyed by other workers, such as a minimum wage, weekly days off, and overtime. Their exclusion from key labor protections is exacerbated by the unique isolation domestic workers face in the private homes of their employers — where they are often subject to an array of exploitative conditions and criminal abuse.
Once marginalized and invisible, a new dawn could be approaching for Asma and other domestic workers like her. In collaboration with full-time domestic workers who are driving national efforts, stalwart activists — such as Anis Hidayah of Jakarta-based Migrant Care, and Lita Anggraini of Indonesia’s National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy — are engaging and mobilizing domestic workers at the community, national and international level.
Domestic workers are using innovative strategies to unite their efforts into a global movement with its voices heard in legislative chambers from the Philippines to South Africa, and Italy to Argentina. Domestic workers around the world are partnering with labor unions and civil society groups, putting their issues front and center of their governments’ national agendas and demanding that their basic human rights be respected.
A new report from the International Domestic Workers Network, the International Trade Union Confederation and Human Rights Watch tracks the impressive momentum of the global domestic workers’ movement over the last two years. Based on interviews from domestic workers and civil society representatives from over 20 countries, “Claiming Rights: Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform” explores the creative strategies activists have used to mobilize and strengthen labor laws at the national and international level.
Over a decade of organizing by domestic worker activists — including Indonesia’s robust movement — has culminated in the establishment of a groundbreaking new treaty that sets out the first international labor standards to promote decent work for domestic workers. The International Labor Organization’s Domestic Workers Convention entitles domestic workers to the same basic rights as other workers, such as a minimum wage, social security, weekly days off and clear information on the terms and conditions of their employment. Governments whose countries are party to the convention are obligated to protect domestic workers from violence, regulate private employment agencies that recruit domestic workers, and prevent children from laboring in domestic work.
According to a 2013 ILO study, over 20 million domestic workers are employed in Asia, making the region the single largest employer of domestic workers worldwide. The Philippines was the first Asian country to ratify the Domestic Workers Convention. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should ensure that Indonesia is the second.
President Yudhoyono expressed his unequivocal support for the Domestic Workers Convention at the 2011 ILO Conference in Geneva. Meanwhile, though, Indonesia’s Bill on the Protection of Domestic Workers — put before parliament more than two years ago — has made little progress toward enactment, and its current provisions fall short of international standards that would provide meaningful legal reform.
The Indonesian government should bring its domestic workers under the protection of national labor laws and ensure that those laws are strengthened to comply with international human rights standards. It should closely work with civil society groups to strengthen the proposed domestic workers’ bill, laying the groundwork for Indonesia’s ratification of the Domestic Workers Convention.
Indonesia has an historic opening where the voices of domestic workers like Asma are transcending the walls of their employers’ homes to occupy a rare public and political space. The government should listen and respond to these voices, by taking concrete steps to ensure that all of Indonesia’s workers get the dignity they deserve, the value they earn and the respect that they demand.
Matthew Rullo, a coordinator in the women’s rights division at Human Rights Watch, is a co-author of “Claiming Rights: Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform.”
Taken from The Jakarta Globe (which is... no more!)
I actually had this as a subject during my Indonesian Language and Culture class, it’s about the cases of household workers in and out of Indonesia. The lesson I attended talks about the case of an Indonesian maid seeking employment in Hong Kong as a household worker; there, she is mistreated and even abused by her employers. The subject also take into consideration that the household labor force is now industrialized, as there are now agencies that seek laborers and connect them to prospective employers. These workers then are bound by a contract that dictate how long they are employed and restrict them by giving fees and have exploitable loopholes that the employer can take into advantage by cutting wages. In Indonesia however, most household workers are not bound to a contract, as they lack a certain structured formality in their employment. Because of this, they are free to resign or accept employment unofficially and unregulated. This might look detrimental, but many argue that this is the reason that Indonesia has a better prospect for household workers than other countries. Without being bound by a contract, a worker has the power to resign and leave an employer if they fell like that their employer is mistreating them in some way. Workers bound by an official contract don’t have the power to leave if they want to. Many question this practice, stating that there are no restrictions given to the workers and that there is nothing stopping them from leaving their employers once they got their salaries. But in reality there would not be a reason for workers to leave their employers as the proper household wouldn’t make them want to leave their employers. Household workers would prefer economic stability over the prospect of unemployment.
ReplyDeleteMy father used to get involved in this type of cases few years ago. There are so many stories that he told to me when I was young about maids in Indonesia. Most of the stories are about a maid that was being violated by their employer which leave scars in their body and in the end they ran to a shelter. This is the most common story that I have heard from my father. For maids, shelter is a very nice place because they are being accommodated very well. They get foods, clothes, and sometimes even money. There are also a case where the maid actually have a good relationship with their employer but they still ran to the shelter because the shelter is just a nice place. I did a research once and it stated that in some countries, new maids are not allowed to communicate with other experienced maids because the employers are scared that their maid might be affected and run to a shelter.
ReplyDeleteHumanity. We live in an era where we don’t apply slavery anymore. We live in an era where we respect every human being. A man who becomes the president is human, a man who becomes a taxi driver is human, and a man who becomes domestic worker is also human. Sadly, many people judge and consider them as a group of people that they don’t need to respect. Just because they think so, they ignore the needs of domestic workers. And even some people abuse them rudely as if the domestic worker was a slave. I totally agree if the government implement a regulation in order to protect the rights and the life of domestic workers. Despite the status of them in the society, the government must not pay an attention to that. A government is obligated to protect their people. Domestic workers are also the people of a nation as the result of equality. And the most important thing is humanity.
ReplyDeleteI expect this article to get lots of comments because this is such an unpopular, ongoing issue that needs more awareness! Domestic worker abuse happens mainly towards workers coming from less economically developed countries in a more developed country with a lower-class working status. Back when I used to live in Qatar, “nannies” or as we call a servant or maid, mostly came from countries such as Philippine, Sri Lanka, India and a lot of other countries including Indonesia which isn’t surprising. There were many cases where Indonesian maids escaped from their boss/employer due to domestic abuse. My mom, who is active in the Indonesian community in Qatar, has helped a countable amount of these victims and linked them up with the Indonesian embassy in Qatar to protect them. For the unfortunate ones who don’t have the courage to escape from their boss/employer, are stuck and being mistreated, including in not getting their agreed pay. This goes on to extreme extents such as; prohibiting them to pray in their own beliefs, violent physical abuse, and most disgustingly – rape.
ReplyDeleteAnother form of abuse that these people face in my opinion is the excessive workload. These, in my opinion, are the passive kind of abuse, the “slow and painful” type of abuse. People are getting smarter, so they started increasing their work in order to “be efficient” with their money that they are giving to these poor, helpless maids. The employers’ excuses are, “you’re getting paid to do everything I say” which is completely irrational. So, an example of this added workload that they face is, servants are now being sent to driving schools so they can do two jobs under one profession and one salary. In case you guys still don’t get the problem, here in the Middle East, the rich families have drivers and servants. The driver’s task is to transport the mother or the children and sometimes they would have one driver allocated for either of them. The servant’s task is to cook, clean, take care of the children, picking them up from school ALONG with the driver. So now that you’ve understand, what these greedy people did is that they combined ALL those tasks and assigned them to one person in order to save up money and be “efficient”. As much as I enjoy living in the Middle East, this has been one of the most disgusting issue until now.
DeleteI think that the topic of domestic violence of workers in households is indeed a very common one, lots of cases has been exposed to the public, yet every time it happens, it’s still very shocking and vile. These domestic workers are the actual managers of the house, getting done with all the housework, chores, taking care of the children and even work beyond hours. However, even their basic needs are sometimes unfulfilled. This includes lack of sense of respect to them, equal pay to their working hours and basic fringe benefits such as weekly day-off, everyday meals as well as permission to return home to their families during national holidays. In Indonesia itself, domestic work is considered undervalued and poorly regulated by the government, where there are accounts of maltreatment and abuse, especially of live-in and migrant domestic workers, are regularly reported in the media. In addition, in many countries, domestic work is largely performed by child labourers. Although their labor is also essential to Indonesia’s national economy, the government has not done nor officiate the rules and regulation regarding the national labor laws. Labor laws are however crucial to protect these domestic workers as it complies with the international human rights standards. Concrete steps should be taken by the government to ensure that all of these workers get the dignity they deserve, the value they earn as well as the respect they demand. To do this, the government must first all eyes and ears to the voices and protests of the people.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the issue of Violence against Women Domestic Workers (PRT) is still common, especially in Indonesia, this occurs due to the power relations between employers and domestic workers. Komnas Perempuan notes that the level of violence against women domestic workers is increasing every year. The main problem discussed is how is the legal protection for domestic workers (victims of domestic violence) victims of current acts of violence and how is the legal protection for domestic workers (PRT) victims of future acts of violence. The problems experienced by domestic workers are very complex and can threaten their lives. This fact can be seen from the number and effects of cases of violence that afflict domestic workers. According to JALA 65 percent of domestic workers are multicasus, ranging from beating with blunt or sharp objects, abuse, watering with hot water, ironing, sexual harassment, confinement, and not being paid.
ReplyDeleteAlthough in some regions there have been regulations regarding the protection of domestic workers, for example in Yogyakarta. However, in my opinion the existing regulations at the regional level, both in the form of Regional Regulations (Perda) and regulations from the regional head (Governor Regulation and Regulations of the Mayor of Yogyakarta) do not have strong legal force when compared to legislation. Based on this fact, several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that joined the JALA PRT took the initiative to submit a Draft Law (RUU) on the Protection of Domestic Workers (PPRT) to the legislature. But the bill that was submitted to the legislature since 2004 has never been passed into law. I understand that the laws regarding household workers in Indonesia are really much, but it is there because there were a lot of cases in the past, and some of them are still ongoing.
ReplyDeleteBut not only employers can act arbitrarily. There are also domestic workers who do not carry out their jobs properly, and some even commit criminal acts. Amelia Ayu for example, a private employee in Jakarta had experienced an unpleasant story with her workers. The worker asked permission to take a walk on his day off, but until late at night, he did not come back or give news. Until now, this condition has not changed much. Domestic workers still come from the lower middle class with a low bargaining position. Although now there is an overview of the rights and obligations of Household Assistants, it does not make the conditions of domestic workers more secure.
ReplyDeleteIn Latin American countries we also have domestic workers, they are called “Empleadas”. The Empleadas are most of the time women who clean, cook, and even take care of the kids. Families normally have between one or two Empleadas depending on the size of the family and their social status. In El Salvador, domestic workers do have some labor rights.
ReplyDeleteThe labor rights that must be recognized to these people are: the right to the annual vacation which consist in 15 days, the rest days and, of course, the right to a fair and dignified salary. The minimum wage in El Salvador is around 300 USD, however the salary of a Empleada depends pretty much in how many days a week she works, the number of kids she has, and the years working with that family. In my house, we have two Empleadas and they are part of the family, every time I go the change to visit my country I always bring them some presents and I spend hours chatting with them.
Domestic workers are a great part of the Indonesian culture. Great disparities in regions cause women, particularly girls, to move from rural areas to urban areas to work as domestic workers in wealthier households. However, their rights are not protected in the workers’ rights. Indonesian domestic workers are not only in country, but also in foreign lands such as neighboring countries Singapore and Malaysia, and in the Arabian Gulf. Protecting their rights are crucial as the article have said, as domestic workers contribute plenty to our economy, additionally workers abroad with their remittances and money sent back to Indonesia for their families. What should be done to ensure their rights are given, is to educate them with sufficient English, basic rights knowledge of what should be their rights, the support of the government both in country and abroad (in the form of KBRI or consulates) and guarantee of their safety and well beings.
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