Indonesia working mothers want flexible office hours<\/p>\n
By T. Sima Gunawan and Rita A. Widiadana<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Just back from maternity leave, Rina, a media
\nexecutive at a local advertising company, asked her employer to
\nallow her to adjust her working schedules to accommodate her new
\nrole as a mother. She was pleasantly surprised by his response.<\/p>\n
An architecture graduate from a prominent institute in
\nBandung, Rina feels it is not necessary to quit her job while she
\ntakes care of her newly-born baby.<\/p>\n
She had scheduled a long maternity leave and had planned to
\nsignificantly reduce her responsibilities after the leave. But
\nwhen she went back to work earlier this year, she was able to
\nkeep more of her duties than she had expected because of the
\nflexible working hours.<\/p>\n
\"At first, I felt rather unsure whether my boss would accept
\nmy idea to apply flextime working hours. The concept is not yet
\ncommon in Indonesia. To my surprise, he accepted the idea as long
\nas I completed my work and met the deadlines set by the company,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Rina is lucky. She is able to breast-feed the baby and take
\nhim to the doctor at times when other working mothers are
\nstruggling with their routine work.<\/p>\n
Being more committed to work does not necessarily mean you are
\nless committed to families, she said.<\/p>\n
Both the father and mother should share the responsibility to
\nraise the children, but babies need their mother more because
\nthey need their mother's milk.<\/p>\n
Applying flextime to help working mothers balance their
\nworking and family lives is still barely recognized in
\nIndonesia. Neither government offices nor private companies have
\nembraced the concept although Indonesia has ratified The Nairobi
\nForward Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women by the
\nyear 1986-2000, and the Convention on the Elimination of All
\nForms of Discrimination Against Women.<\/p>\n
By ratifying these two documents, the Indonesian government is
\nrequired to create conditions conducive to helping women develop
\ntheir potential as equal development agents.<\/p>\n
The number of working women has continuously increased in
\naccordance with the growing development activities in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
It is no secret that most Indonesian women work outside the
\nhouse because they have to. Many of them work as laborers or in
\nlow-level positions. Studies show that over the last decade more
\nand more Indonesian women are embarking on professional careers
\nbut nothing significant has been done to help them combine
\nprofessional and family roles.<\/p>\n
United States<\/p>\n
Local working mothers and fathers may feel a little envious
\nwhen they compare their working conditions with those of their
\ncounterparts in Western countries.<\/p>\n
In the United States, for instance, the Department of Labor
\nhas encouraged companies to set new pledges to help parents
\ncombine work and family life. Companies are urged to provide
\nvarious facilities including paternity leave, child-care and
\nnursing rooms. The programs must be written formally and
\nparticipants have to submit pledge cards to the department. All
\nthose who make the pledge are congratulated publicly by the
\ndepartment.<\/p>\n
Last year an American magazine, Working Mothers,
\nnominated 100 giant industries including IBM, Johnson & Johnson,
\nGeneral Motors and Atlantic Richfield Co, AT&T, Cigna
\nInternational as the best companies for working parents. These
\ncompanies are role models for American businesses which
\nsuccessfully create workplaces that offer employees the
\nopportunity to both advance their careers and have a good family
\nlife.<\/p>\n
The companies have offered various benefits including child-
\ncare centers and elderly-care centers, paid leave for both
\nmothers and fathers to spend time with their children. The
\ncompanies also apply flextime, a new concept of work founded in
\nl986, and a work-at-home concept for their employees. The
\nmagazine revealed that in addition to the 100 giant companies,
\nthere are many smaller firms which have moved further into the
\nworking revolution by allowing female workers to bring their
\nbabies into offices.<\/p>\n
Martha Tilaar, general manager of PT Martina Bertho which runs
\ncosmetic companies Sari Ayu and Biokos, said her companies are
\ntrying to apply flextime for their female workers.<\/p>\n
\"I always ask my workers to go back home to nurse their babies
\nat least during lunch time. But many of them are reluctant to do
\nso because of traffic problems,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She urged companies in each industrial complex to jointly
\nestablish child-care centers to help women workers nurse their
\noffspring during working hours. Her factory is located in the
\nPulo Gadung Industrial Complex in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"I know that it will take quite a long time to realize the
\nidea in Indonesia for various reasons,\" Martha said.<\/p>\n
If any company starts the scheme, it has already been
\nsupported the government's program which is fully backed by
\nPresident Soeharto.<\/p>\n
The president has pledged l996-2000 as the years of the
\nNational Movement to Strengthen Equal Partnership Between Men and
\nWomen. Thus, the concepts are in line with the Movement because
\nthey allow both men and women to work hand in hand in the family
\nand in national development activities.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Atlantic Richfield Indonesia in Jakarta, a
\nsubsidiary of the US-based Atlantic Richfield Company declined to
\nreveal its policy regarding their workforce.<\/p>\n
\"We have to consult first with the state-owned oil company
\nPertamina and we have to adhere to local policy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Niaga Cigna, a subsidiary of Cigna International, has
\nimplemented the flextime concept for its account executives and
\nmarketing staff, who are mostly working mothers.<\/p>\n
Rae Sita Suwardi, Niaga Cigna's communications and marketing
\nmanager, said that these staff are able to set their own working
\nschedules while at the same time, they receive various benefits.<\/p>\n
T.O Ihromi, a professor of law at the University of Indonesia,
\nconcluded in Kajian Wanita Dalam Pembangunan (Studies on Women in
\nDevelopment) that Indonesian labor law includes articles that
\ngrant equality for women in the workplace.<\/p>\n
\"Equality before the law is being achieved but real and
\nconcrete steps are still required to ensure equality of
\nopportunity in education, and equality of access to health care,
\nto jobs and to political power.\" the professor said in the book.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has followed-up the ratification of the documents on
\nwomen by the issuance of the Indonesian Country Reports. The
\nreports suggest employers should provide better facilities and
\nprotection for women workers.<\/p>\n
A study made by Sulistyowati Irianto, a researcher at the
\nWomen's Study Center, reveals that even though some articles in
\nthe reports have been transformed into Indonesian labor law, many
\nviolations still occur in the field.<\/p>\n
Gender discrimination prevails, there is a lack of facilities
\nand benefits such as the provision of child care centers, paid
\npaternity leave and medical allowances. And the application of
\nflexible working hours is unpopular with bosses, according to
\nSulistyowati.<\/p>\n
\"Basically we are trying to get commitments and action. We've
\nalways had lots of words about equality... what we want is to put
\nthose words to music, which is the action,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Translating that talk into action is crucial, she said.
\nOtherwise, a new world order, where women share responsibilities
\nwith men in the fields of development, peace and social justice,
\nwill remain a pipe dream in Indonesia.<\/p>",
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