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Dancing domestic workers demand protection
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Domestic workers brought along household utensils like dusters, brooms, spatulas and frying pans to enliven the rally. (Kompas.com/Rima Wahyuningrum)
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bout 350 domestic workers across the city gathered on Jl. Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta on Tuesday to commemorate International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day.
The rally’s coordinator, Lita Anggraeni, said the participants had several demands that included legal protection for domestic workers and to be protected from sexual harassment.
“We want the government to figure out how to keep domestic workers safe from discrimination,” Lita said, as quoted by kompas.com, adding that they had yet to get social security. They are also prohibited from associating with their peers.
The domestic workers brought household utensils like dusters, brooms, spatulas and frying pans to enliven the rally. The protesters, the majority of whom were women, also held aloft banners that read: “Day off for domestic workers”, “Decent wages for workers” and “Employers are not kings or queens”.
The workers also danced to pop music during the rally, with their dance moves mimicking household-cleaning activities like sweeping and washing. (vny)
