Education for all: Nita Kurniawati and Alliyah, two alumni from the PRT School, pose for a photograph in front of the school building. JP/Sri Wahyuni
Alliyah, a domestic worker from Central Java, happily strolled into the office of Rumpun Tjoet Njak Dien (RTND) in Wirosaban residential complex, Yogyakarta, on a Saturday afternoon, with the two kids she usually looks after.
Smiling to everybody she met at the office, she took the two pre-school aged kids inside.
“My employer is busy so I have to bring them here with me, which is where I usually spend my days off with friends,” said the 22-year-old woman who has been working as a domestic worker for the kids’ parents for nine months.
She didn’t mind working overtime and taking care of the kids a little longer than usual on a Saturday, her day off. She felt uneasy about their mother not being able to attend her meeting, and yes, Alliyah was paid overtime for the extra work.
Alliyah is lucky enough to have a clear contract that both her and her employer signed voluntarily.
The contract includes Alliyah and her employer’s rights and responsibilities, clearly stating the duration of the contract, the agreed monthly salary, overtime fee, weekly day off, etc.
“The PRT school taught me the skills I needed to secure good working conditions,” said Alliyah, referring to a course specifically designed for domestic workers set up by the RTND.
PRT, which initially stood for pembantu rumah tangga (maid) is now the abbreviation for pekerja rumah tangga (domestic worker), to show respect for workers in the sector.
Alliyah, who decided to work as a PRT upon finishing elementary school, said a friend told her about the school.
She joined the school in 2006 and since then, has always signed a contract before working for a family as a domestic worker. Her classmate at the course, Nita Kurniawati, 27, of Plered, Bantul, Yogyakarta, also shared the same experience.
“Working contracts give us the security we need in our jobs,” said Nita, a junior high school graduate who decided to become a domestic worker in 2006 when the handicraft factory she worked for went bankrupt.
In terms of salary, Nita said her pay did not depend on the monthly regional wage set by the local administration.
“We [her employer and herself] will adjust the budget [her salary] to what we agree is a reasonable fee, for reasonable working hours. This is what we call a reasonable wage,” she said.
Both Alliyah and Nita joined the 10th course offered by the PRT School. According to Shanti Ardha Chandra, the PRT School’s headmaster, the school has run 16 classes since its establishment in 2003.
Each class, she added, comprises between 12 and 20 participants. Students come from Yogyakarta and other regions in and outside Java.
Each of the three-and-a-half-month courses, Shanti said, is divided into a two-and-a-half months of theory and a one-month practice in a real setting. Participants can choose either baby-sitting, household work or home nursing as their major.
“We also offer driving lessons, computer and basic English courses as well as theatre classes so participants can voice their aspirations,” Shanti said.
The school, she added, also encourages participants to form a PRT organization in their respective working community. It has last year helped establish the Congress of Yogyakarta PRT Organizations (KOY), the umbrella foundation for 18 PRT groups across Yogyakarta.
Co-founder of the school Lita Anggraini said the school was at first established to help empower PRTs and PRT candidates by improving their working skills and teach them about their rights and responsibilities.
That way, she said, the school helps reduce their vulnerability to any form of exploitation and creates healthier working relations between them and their employers.
Sekar, a housewife from Suryodiningratan, Yogyakarta, who has been using the services of school alumni since 2007, said she found the contract she signed with her PRT highly beneficial.
“We know exactly each other’s rights and obligations. I don’t even need to teach them their jobs as they already know what to do,” she said.
She added that thanks to the contract, she no longer worried about domestic workers leaving the job without prior notice, a common problem plaguing many families employing domestic workers.
| 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|