Hoping to find jobs as babysitters, two girls apply at a domestic worker agency in Grogol, Jakarta, in this October 2007 file photo. (JP/J. Adiguna)

In the weeks before and after the Idul Fitri holidays many middle-class households are busy with domestic matters. Now, however, is when families go hunting for maids.

As the holiday ends and employees in the public and private sector return to work, anxiety begins to creep into the minds of families whose maids failed to return after joining the annual exodus (mudik) back to their hometowns.

"My housemate and I were forced to go and stay at my friend's parents' house because our housekeeper did not return from mudik," Leyana Riesca, 25 said.

Leyana said her maid, who was from Central Java, did not notify her of her resignation beforehand.

"She just didn't return," she said. Leyana is now asking domestic workers in her neighborhood to search for a maid.

Leyana is part of the millions of middle-class households who depend on domestic workers to handle their household chores. The UN's International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated in 2003 that 2.5 million people work as domestic workers. Chairperson for the National Network of Domestic Workers Advocacy (Jala PRT) Lita Anggraeni said that due to the informal nature of the job, the actual number might be higher.

"We can say that around 75 percent of the Indonesian middle class hires domestic workers in their houses," Lita said.

However, despite this widespread use, Indonesia does not view the job as a profession. It is not recognized under Indonesia's Labor Law. As some workers live with the hiring family, the job remains in the realm of the private sphere of the family, resulting in no regulations for domestic workers.

Leyana's experience of having her domestic helper leave without notice is only one example of the result of the profession's lax regulation. But, the greater impact of non-existent regulation falls upon the workers.

Just as Indonesian migrants working in foreign countries are prone to exploitation and abuse due to lack of legal protection, domestic workers in Indonesia face the same risks.

ILO has stated that most Indonesian domestic workers have been denied their rights and many fall victim to abuse because they are not recognized as workers. A 2005 ILO survey found that 60 percent of the 500 domestic workers surveyed were either only partially paid or did not receive payment at all. About 20 percent of them suffered sexual harassment, while 40 percent faced psychological abuse.

"People rarely realize that domestic workers experience both physical and psychological abuse. Sometimes people do not view it as abuse. For example physical abuse due to long working hours and heavy workloads as well as psychological abuse from being scorned are considered normal in our society," Lita said.

Jala PRT recorded 412 cases of domestic worker abuse between 2000 and 2007.

In July of this year, a housewife with a history of mental illness allegedly beat her maid to death in South Kedoya, West Jakarta.

In August last year, two maids from Lampung working for a family in Jatinegara, East Jakarta, were beaten, scaled with hot water and locked in a cabinet for drinking the milk of their employer's children. In the same month, an employer in Bengkulu abused a domestic worker who was a minor, 13, by placing a hot iron on her skin.

Djazirotin Nikmah, Care International Indonesia project officer for programs on child domestic workers said a third of the domestic workers were children.

"These children are more prone to exploitation and abuse as they are not as mentally developed as adults," she said.

Jala PRT -- consisting of a network of 28 organizations -- attempts to fight for and protect domestic workers' rights nationally, Lita said.

Jala is drafting a proposal for a bill to protect domestic workers which will be presented to parliament.

"Hopefully, it will be deliberated in parliament in 2010," Lita said.

Jala PRT decided to develop an entire new bill rather than amend the 2003 Labor Law. This decision was taken due to the urgent need to protect domestic workers, Lita said.

"Domestic workers should be recognized in the Labor Law. However, it would take a very long time to amend the law, and a regulation is badly needed."

The proposed bill includes a salary of at least the regional minimum wage and includes working hours.

"Domestic workers' needs are the same as any other workers, therefore they should receive at least the minimum wage."

Salaries for domestics vary from as little as Rp 200,000 to Rp 1 million.

Legislator Maria Ulfa from the House of Representatives Commission IX overseeing manpower affairs said Jala should submit their proposal to the parliament soon.

"I think it is time that domestic workers have legal protection," she said.

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