M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – The Rising Women's Alliance urges the House of Representatives or DPR, particularly its speaker Puan Maharani, to immediately pass the Bill on Domestic Workers Protection (PPRT). The draft regulation is considered able to stop violence and the practice of slavery against domestic workers.
"We urge the DPR, especially the Speaker, to pass the Bill on Domestic Workers Protection into a law to stop violence and the practice of modern slavery against female domestic workers," the Alliance representative Nur Amalia said on Thursday, February 16.
Efforts to ratify the rule began 19 years ago but the DPR has yet to pass it. The DPR Legislative Body had actually approved the draft of the PPRT Bill in a plenary meeting on July 1, 2020 and reported it two weeks later to the Deliberative Body.
On January 18 this year, President Joko Widodo held a special press conference to push for the ratification of this bill. Jokowi also ordered the Minister of Manpower and the Minister of Law and Human Rights to coordinate with the DPR to speed up the bill's passing.
Nur Amalia said that domestic workers also never stopped urging the DPR to ratify the bill immediately. One way is by staging the 'Wednesday Action' since December 21 last year. This is a weekly demonstration by domestic workers held every Wednesday in front of the DPR Building in Jakarta.
"The Wednesday Action is also carried out in a number of other cities such as in Sidoarjo, Surabaya and Makassar," Nur said, adding that it will not stop until the DPR actually passes the PPRT Bill.
She also said that they are urging the Minister of Manpower and the regional/provincial Manpower Offices to issue a temporary special policy that provides protection and the fulfillment of domestic workers' rights.
"Domestic violence that occurs in secret can no longer be tolerated and the state must address it by issuing policies to stop the abuse," she said.