Jakarta – The House of Representatives should accelerate the deliberation of the domestic workers bill and ratify the UN convention on migrant workers to improve legal protection for housemaids here and overseas, groups say.
A National Commission on Violence against Women member, Agustinus Supriyanto, said that the House had not made progress in deliberating the bill despite that it one this year's priorities.
"The House has many bills that are 'sexier'," Agustinus said at a press conference responding the International Labour Conference (ILC) on Friday.
The bill, in conjunction with the UN convention, Agustinus said, would ensure protection for Indonesian domestic workers in the country and overseas who are prone to abuses and deprived of basic rights.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono attended the ILC on June 14 in Geneva, Switzerland. He addressed the necessity to protect domestic workers and said that Indonesia would support the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 189 on decent work for domestic workers.
Agustinus said that the international community had noted the President's commitment.
"Therefore, the international community, Indonesian citizens and domestic workers will also wait and monitor Indonesia's concrete actions to ratify the convention and integrate the substance of the convention into the domestic workers bill," Agustinus said.
He added that Indonesia might have ratified many ILO's conventions, but was yet to implement the agreement fully. "I call it NARO: No Action, Ratification Only," Agustinus said.
He added that Indonesia had yet to ratify the UN's International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, which was signed in 2004.
Estu Rahmi Fanani from the National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy (JALA PRT), who attended the press conference, said that legislation to protect domestic workers, either working in the country or abroad, was urgent because many of them were abused.
"There is a legal protection vacuum for domestic workers, which has created opportunities for domestic workers' rights violations," she said.
Activists earlier said that the ratification of the UN convention would improve the country's bargaining position in bilateral negotiations to protect its unskilled workers.
Indonesia has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Malaysia to guarantee workers' rights, including the right to days off and access to communication, and is negotiating with Saudi Arabia to realize a similar pact.
The deputy chairman of the House's Commission IX overseeing health and welfare, Irgan Chairul Mahfiz, said the House was always concerned about legislation related to public welfare.
"The domestic workers bill is at the academic deliberation stage. Afterwards, the House's faction will lobby to enrich the bill. In the next House session, we will establish a working committee to endorse the bill," he said.
"The bill is included in the national legislation program. Therefore, we hope that the bill will pass into law this year," he added. He said the House also was working to ratify the international convention.
"We want no more abuse to happen to our migrant workers. There should be an improvement of the fate of our domestic workers," Irgan said. He said the House was working on a revision on a law on the placement and protection of migrant workers abroad. (rcf)