Anita Rachman – As they commemorated their day on Wednesday, Indonesian domestic workers said they only wanted two things: for the domestic workers protection bill to be deliberated this year and the government to ratify the International Labor Organization Domestic Workers Convention.

Hundreds of domestic workers marched on Wednesday, which was National Domestic Workers Day, in the streets of Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Semarang and Yogyakarta to vocalize these demands.

Domestic workers have long been fighting for those two actions that they say are needed to protect the estimated 10.7 million maids around the country, more than the six million migrant workers abroad who receive more attention.

A study by the National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy (Jala PRT) in 10 cities showed that maids suffered from poor treatment, received low pay and few days off and were generally overworked, often working more than 16 hours a day.

In Jakarta, Jala PRT chairwoman Lita Anggraini, along with dozens of domestic workers, rallied in front of the Presidential Palace.

"Our demands are the deliberation of the domestic workers protection bill and ratification of Convention 189," Lita said, referring to the new International Labor Organization's Domestic Workers Convention of 2011.

The workers scored a win in December when, after days of protesting in front of the legislature, which involved Lita chaining herself to the House of Representatives' gate, lawmakers agreed to include the bill in the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas).

Now, the next step is monitoring the drafting and deliberation of the bill. Amnesty International said in a statement on Wednesday that "the draft law does not meet international law and standards, in particular with regard to child domestic workers, hours of work, wages,and dispute resolution."

The group argued that lawmakers should ensure the final draft complies with international law and standards and explicitly contain provisions pertaining to the specific needs of women.

"Such provisions must include ensuring sexual and reproductive rights for domestic workers, in particular during and after pregnancy." Amnesty International stated.

Being included in the 2012 Prolegnas also does not guarantee that the bill will be passed this year, as the House is known to complete less than half of its target number of laws each year.

Amnesty said that failure to pass the bill into law meant that in Indonesia, domestic workers were not legally recognized as workers and did not enjoy the same protection and safeguards as other workers did. Due to the lack of protection, they often experience economic exploitation and physical, psychological and sexual violence on a regular basis. Amnesty also urged the House to ratify the convention as soon as possible.

Rieke Diah Pitaloka, a member of House Commission IX overseeing labor, said the legislature was working on the bill and ensuring it would carry the same principles as Convention 189. Nevertheless, Rieke said it was better for the government to ratify the convention first before the House pushed the bill.

"Because even the president himself said that the convention could be taken as an umbrella for other legal regulations, such as the law and other regulations," she said. Rieke said that the commission had formed a working committee and was working on the draft of the bill.