D

omestic workers are still the most likely group to be subjected to forced labor in Indonesia, with employers demanding they work long hours on a monthly income of less than Rp 300,000 (US$30).

Such conditions have remained unchanged for decades because there is no law to protect them from their employers, a UN report says.

A study conducted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) said many countries, including Indonesia, have not yet issued a policy to prevent domestic workers from being exploited in their work places.

"Domestic workers, predominantly women, are the group at particular risk of forced labor because of their isolated circumstances within the private homes," Albert Bonasahat, ILO's National Coordinator of the Migrant Workers Project told reporters Tuesday.

"In many cases they *domestic workers* are not protected by national labor laws."

The Indonesian government drafted a bill in 2005 aimed at protecting domestic helpers, but the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration has not yet submitted it to the House of Representative for deliberation.

"We don't know why the government has stopped discussing the draft bill on domestic helpers," Albert said.

There are currently between 2.5 million and 3 million domestic helpers in the country, according to the ILO.

Albert said in the absence of a law, employers often demand domestic helpers work up to 16 hours a day, seven days a week.

"This overtime is not remunerated at a higher rate than regular working hours. All these forms of unpaid or underpaid "excessive work" should be taken into account when estimating the total cost of coercion," he said.

The ILO plans to set an international standard in dealing with the protection of domestic helpers working across the globe by 2010.

"Hopefully, the member countries of the ILO can adopt the convention or recommendation by June 2011," he said.

The ILO launched its report on the international cost of forced labor Tuesday.

The report, which focuses on migrant and domestic workers, predicted the cost of forced labor exceeded US$20 billion per year worldwide.

It said migrant workers forced into poor labor conditions often incurred several costs related to their recruitment, such as paying an agent, funding training or financing visa or transport costs.

"We must not forget that forced labor is a serious crime that requires punishment. But we must also remember it is poorly defined under national legislations, making it difficult to address the many subtle ways in which workers can be denied freedom," said Alan Boulton, the director of the ILO in Indonesia.

"The challenge now is to address the problems in an integrated way, through prevention and law enforcement, using both labor and criminal justice."

The report called for greater efforts to be made to eradicate the unethical practice.