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Calls for domestic worker protection bill grow as House nears end of tenure
.Labor rights organizations have urged the House of Representatives to kick start the deliberation of the domestic worker protection bill before the end of its tenure in October, fearing that the long awaited piece of legislation will face a significant setback if lawmakers fail to do so.
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Domestic workers stage a rally in front of the House of Representatives complex, demanding the House endorse a long-awaited bill on protecting their rights, as seen in this file photo from 2016. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
L
abor rights organizations have urged the House of Representatives to kick start the deliberation of the domestic worker protection bill before the end of its tenure in October, fearing that the long awaited piece of legislation will face a significant setback if lawmakers fail to do so.
Dozens of activists and domestic workers grouped under the National Advocacy Network for Domestic Workers (Jala PRT) staged a rally in front of the House complex in Jakarta on Sunday to mark International Domestic Workers Day and urged lawmakers to expedite the deliberation process.
"We hope that lawmakers can finally start the deliberation process of the bill that we have been awaiting for 20 years and which is desperately needed by 5 million domestic workers in the country," Lita Anggraini of Jala PRT said.
Mutiara Ika Pratiwi of women's rights group Perempuan Mahardhika who participated in the rally said that with only a few months left of their tenure, lawmakers could not afford to delay the deliberation of the domestic workers bill any longer.
"Now is a very crucial time for its deliberation because we will soon have a new government and lawmakers in office. So it's very important that current House members pass the bill as soon as possible," she said.
A similar demand was also voiced by government-sanctioned independent agency the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), which said the bill was desperately needed to improve the poor working conditions of millions of domestic workers across the archipelago.
"A lot of domestic workers continue to work under poor conditions, facing threats of violence, harassment and even slavery. It's the state’s responsibility to ensure that their constitutional rights as workers are protected," Komnas Perempuan commissioner Tiasri Wiandani said in a discussion on Friday.
