Seasonal domestic workers gear up for Idul Fitri holiday

As Idul Fitri approaches, families in the city are faced with the prospect of having to make do without their regular domestic workers.

But families whose maids have made the traditional journey home to spend the holiday with family can always rely on an army of temporary domestic workers, who have already flocked Jakarta to offer their services.

Housewife Valencia Mieke Randa said hiring a seasonal maid was now a routine during Idul Fitri holiday, especially as she needed to keep her house in order and have someone help look after the kids.

“During Idul Fitri, I am always overwhelmed by having to look after the kids and the house at the same time. So the only option is to hire seasonal maids and a baby sitter,” she said.

Valencia said she usually contacted an agency a week before Idul Fitri and was ready to pay hired help Rp 60,000 (US$7) per day and Rp 600,000 to the placement agency.

In fact, supplying domestic workers for the Idul Fitri holiday period has become a big business for
some firms.

Some agencies receive orders early in the fasting month, but demand soars only after the third week of Ramadhan.

“The demand for seasonal maids will reach peak 15 days before Idul Fitri, but some people have already placed orders since the first day of Ramadhan,” Fara Aurora from Cinta Keluarga Foundation said.

This year, she said, her agency had trained 100 domestic workers in the run-up to the holiday. Each was trained on basic housekeeping for two days at the agency’s facilities.

Most domestic workers who sign a contract with the agency need at least one year of working experience and should be between the age of 20 and 35 years, Fara added.

The workers also need to be in possession of valid ID cards, have certified skills and letter from their family.

Pardianto from Fitria, a domestic worker placement agency, said he had problems meeting the high demand for labor as there were less people applying to be seasonal workers.

“The demand so far is quite high but we don’t have enough people to meet the demand. We suspect some of the domestic workers who used to work for use have gone abroad and become migrant workers,” he said.

In Jakarta, domestic workers receive a salary of between Rp 60,000 to Rp 90,000 per day, while baby sitters receive between Rp 100,000 and Rp 150,000 per day.

Pardianto said the fee was reasonable given the heavy workload domestic workers faced during
Idul Fitri.

Some domestic workers said working during the holiday period was a good opportunity as they received higher pay.

“The salary is bigger than the monthly salary I get when I work on a longer term basis. Also, the contract can be quite short, only around two weeks,” Ela said.

Others said they jumped at the opportunity because of the flexible working hours.

“I have a child in Semarang so I need to return home frequently, which I can’t do I become a live-in domestic worker,” Nila said.