Action sought against illegal maid suppliers

JAKARTA (JP): The City Manpower Agency should take stern action against illegal agencies supplying household helpers, a councilor said yesterday.

City council deputy speaker Sugeng Suprijatna made the remark in response to the prevalence of such agencies operating in Jakarta.

Their operation was feared to cause social problems, including the use of illegal residents, he said.

Sugeng was referring to cases involving the abuse of household helpers.

"In many maid abuse cases, a fair settlement can never be reached because it's hard to track down the responsible parties," Sugeng said. "Since the agency is illegal, it can disappear quickly."

Sugeng also stressed the importance of publicizing the rule on domestic helpers' welfare that was introduced by the municipality in June, 1993.

Under the rule, the municipality imposes a Rp 500,000 (US$188.68) fee every three years on agencies supplying domestic help.

It also stipulates that a domestic helper's employer is subject to an annual Rp 3,000 (US$1.13) fee, including the cost of a Rp 500 city stamp.

The head of the City Manpower Agency, R.H Sudhartin said yesterday that 95 percent of agencies supplying domestic help in the city were illegal.

"Of 76 domestic helper agencies, only three of them have business permits," he said.

He blamed the rising number of illegal agencies on their owners' lack of understanding of the city's rule on domestic help.

He also admitted that because many helpers came from villages and did not have sufficient social skills, they tended to become victims of fraud and extortion by the agencies.

Sudhartin said that the manpower agency also faced difficulties recording the number of domestic helpers employed in the city.

"They are employed just a few days after being briefly accommodated by the agencies," he said.

According to municipality data from 1996, only 25,000 of an estimated 500,000 domestic helpers were registered. It is also estimated that 30 percent of the 1.7 million families in the city have domestic help.

The city set aside Rp 600 million to train domestic helpers in the current 1997/1998 fiscal year.

Sugeng said that if training programs for household helpers could be maintained, there would be less risk of them encountering bad treatment at the hands either the agencies or the employers.

The 31-chapter rule on domestic help regulates the rights and obligations of agencies, employers and helpers themselves.

The rule also covers a minimum working age of 15 for domestic helpers, unless they have parental permission. It also introduces 12 days of annual leave.

The agencies' obligations include, among other things, processing licenses, giving training in housekeeping skills and guaranteeing that workers stay in their jobs for at least six months.

The agencies are also forbidden from send domestic helpers outside Jakarta, supplying them through brokers or charging them fees. (07)