Readers’ Outlook: Domestic workers need better protection

From June 1-17, the 100th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) took place in Geneva. It was a historic moment for domestic workers (DW) as the ILC has adopted DW Convention C189. We salute C189 as it deals with the plight of millions of domestic workers who are mainly women.

It addresses many issues faced by domestic workers in their work and life.

This convention is not only for migrant domestic-workers. It focuses on domestic work, as domestic work is very often unrecognized and therefore undervalued.

Indonesia ought to have a bill on the protection of domestic workers on its National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) 2011 but so far no hard commitment has been made by our legislators and government. 2012 presents a real challenge or it will be like 2010 and 2011, passing with no result. Are we maintaining the status quo and the privileges of the Indonesian middle class?

As to addressing the migrant domestic-workers category, Thanh-Dam Truong, associate professor of women, gender and development studies at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands, points out the importance of understanding the situation of migrant domestic-workers in terms of a context-specific articulation of three regimes: the gender regime, the welfare regime (she prefers to use the term well-being), which shapes care work (or reproductive work in feminist literature), and the migration regime.

She further adds that the absence of rights-protection for migrant domestic workers is an outcome of a gender regime that codifies domestic work as women’s work. Consequently, the visibility of domestic workers’ rights depends on public discourse with regard to welfare and well-being.

Furthermore, Truong states that the modification of domestic work and care for children and the elderly requires the recognition of such work as skillful work.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono indicated that we must support the ILO Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers as this convention can provide guidance to countries sending migrant domestic workers and the host governments in giving protection to them.

The President once said that domestic workers who work internally inside their own country, namely “local” in Indonesia, should also be given protection. Until now there is still no national law for the protection and rights of domestic workers. We must fight harder in 2012 so that it will bring laws on protection and the rights of domestic workers into reality.

Maria Pakpahan
Edinburgh