Commission XIII: Domestic Workers Protection Act Demonstrates High Commitment to Humanising People

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Commission XIII, Willy Aditya, stated that the Domestic Workers Protection Act (UU PPRT) represents a high level of commitment to humanising people. “The UU PPRT is a high commitment to humanising people. Workers who support industrial productive work are now truly valued for their jobs,” Willy said in a statement received in Jakarta on Thursday. According to him, the UU PPRT ensures that domestic workers (PRT) employed in the domestic sector receive fair recognition like other professions and obtain their basic rights as workers. “Domestic workers have the same protection rights as other workers. This is an extraordinary collaboration between the DPR, the government, and various workers’ organisations that deserves high appreciation,” said the legislator in the field of human rights. He assessed that this Act also provides legal certainty for domestic workers after decades in which Law Number 13 of 2003 on Manpower did not include domestic workers as a type of job. According to him, the lack of recognition for domestic workers in the Manpower Law was seen to cause a pile-up of human rights violation cases. “The debate was so long, ultimately prolonging cases of human rights violations. From year to year, the perspective has continuously shifted and been improved,” he said. “The UU PPRT becomes a solution for three parties: protection and recognition for workers, for employers, and benefits for the state,” he explained. He explained that the UU PPRT adopts a progressive socio-cultural perspective and provides uniqueness for Indonesia because it combines strict formal industrial thinking with a familial approach full of dialogue. According to him, this perspective is an important breakthrough. “If it merely adopts an industrial mould, domestic workers would have to go through various formal recruitment, training, placement, and reporting mechanisms,” he stated. With the existence of the UU PPRT, Willy is optimistic that Indonesia will be increasingly respected in international relations, as worker protection, which is the core of the regulation, will become a separate assessment for other countries that also recruit domestic workers from Indonesia. “Starting today, the protection of our domestic workers, both inside and outside the country, will apply equally. The minimum standards of treatment that must be provided by foreign recruiters will also follow at least the UU PPRT. This is a victory for humanity,” he said. Previously, the 17th Plenary Session of the DPR RI for the IV Session Period of 2025–2026 on Tuesday (21/4) approved the Domestic Workers Protection Bill to be enacted as a law.