Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – Domestic workers and activists staged a protest in the center of Yogyakarta City, on Friday, urging the House of Representatives to immediately pass the draft law on domestic workers.
"We [domestic workers] will only receive the Idul Fitri holiday bonuses (THR), health coverage and other protection schemes other workers are entitled to if there is a law on domestic workers," said Arsih Suharsih from the Domestic Workers Protection Network (JPRTT) on Friday.
"Today, we are staging a nation-wide demonstration to urge [the House of Representatives] to immediately pass the draft law on domestic workers," she added.
On Friday, rallies were held simultaneously in several cities across the country as domestic workers honor Feb. 15 as the National Domestic Workers Day. They chose Feb. 15 because on that day six years ago, Sunarsih, a child domestic worker in Surabaya, East Java, was tortured to death by her employer.
On the crossroad, the protesters stood in front of stationary motorists while the lights were red light. Many protesters had wooden trays, locally known as "tampah", decorated with messages such as "Menstruation leave", "Eliminate child domestic workers", "Stop violence against domestic workers", "THR" and "Health coverage".
Meanwhile, twelve activists lined up on the sidewalk, each held a wok that had singular letters and together they created the message "Sahkan RUU PRT" (Pass the draft law on domestic workers).
Arsih said domestic workers needed a specific law to protect them as their profession was different to the industrial sector. Their working times, for example, were upwards of eight hours. They also had to live in their employers' houses.
"The draft law on domestic workers protection has been deliberated by the House since 2010 [...] it has yet to become law," said Arsih.
The demonstration coordinator, Sayuti, said many countries such as India or the United States acknowledged National Domestic Workers Day and had a Domestic Workers Law.
"Speaking in front of an International Labour Organization (ILO) meeting in Geneva in 2012, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised that Indonesia would have a Domestic Workers Law. He has yet to realize this promise," said Sayuti, who is also a domestic worker. (ebf)