Edi Hardum – National Mother's Day, which is celebrated in Indonesia on Dec. 22 every year, should serve as a reminder to everyone to improve the safety of the nation's female workers both at home and overseas, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said on Sunday.

Muhaimin said all parties concerned should pay attention to meeting the special needs of female workers and to eliminate discrimination against them.

"The commemoration of Mother's Day should serve as impetus to improve the protection of female workers in Indonesia," Muhaimin said during an event coinciding with National Mother's Day in Jombang, East Java.

He said the government would continue to push for increased protection of female workers because of their role as mothers. "Women get pregnant, give birth, breast feed and raise children – these facts should not affect their status as female workers," the minister said.

"One of their basic rights at their workplace is to be treated equally and not to be discriminated against," he added. "Equal treatment at the workplace is important for the development of fair and harmonious professional relationships."

Muhaimin has therefore urged heads of manpower agencies at the provincial, district and city level to get companies in their respective areas to protect female workers.

"The efforts to provide special protection for female workers are given based on the consideration that female [workers] have special [needs]," he said.

Muhaimin acknowledged that many companies have still not fulfilled the basic rights of women in the workplace. He pointed, by way of example, to the fact that women were denied their full salaries when they took maternity leave.

Another example Muhaimin pointed out was the fact that women are often dismissed from their jobs when they get married or become pregnant. He added that companies should treat female workers equally in terms of wages, family allowances, social security, training opportunities and promotions.

Muhaimin claimed that the government was putting special focus on Indonesian female migrant workers because many of those women working abroad were still experiencing violence in their places of work.

He added that the government was focusing on various sectors in an effort to protect migrant workers in terms of their human resources skills, education, health and law.

Muhaimin said gender-related discrimination at workplaces had to be stopped. He added that equal treatment without any discrimination was the basic right of all workers regardless of their gender, religion, and physical health.

Muhaimin said such rights were stipulated under the International Labor Organization conventions, number 100 and number 111. Both conventions guaranteed every worker fair and equal treatment.

The conventions also stipulate that any violations should be met with justice, without exceptions and without regard to a person's race, skin color, gender, religion, political or faith.