Day of respite proposed for Indonesia's mistreated maids
Yogita Tahil Ramani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Long working hours and working without a day's rest may soon be a thing of the past for Indonesia's housemaids, if campaigns demanding greater respect for their legal rights gain more ground.
The Indonesian Children's Welfare Foundation (YKAI), in cooperation with the ministries of manpower and transmigration and the state Ministry for Women's Empowerment, launched a national campaign on Wednesday aimed at raising public awareness of housemaids' rights for at least one day of rest each week.
Part of the campaign will include the distribution of pamphlets nationwide appealing to anyone employing a housemaid to allow her a day's rest.
Later, the moral campaign would be regulated via ministerial decree, and possible inclusion in the Labor Law.
YKAI Executive Director Damanhuri Rosadi told the press on Wednesday that housemaids do not enjoy much legal protection and face some of the most inhumane working conditions in all of Asia.
"Hundreds of young Indonesian housemaids not only suffer verbal and physical abuse at the hands of their employers, but are also forced to work long hours without proper rest or food," Damanhuri told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
"It is not as if the laws are not there. They are there, but still, girls of between 10 and 18 years of age working as maids are sometimes forced to work 15 hours daily at a stretch, without a single holiday in a week," he said.
The rights of a household laborer to one day's rest in a week is clearly stipulated in Paragraph III, of Article 10 of the Labor Law No. 1/ 1951.
This law was strengthened after Indonesia had ratified an International Labor Organization (ILO) on the same issue, which included other matters like rest on public holidays, weekly rest and taking short breaks after every four hours of work.
However, the law has hardly been enforced by any employer and the government does not push for enforcement.
"Who does not need a housemaid nowadays? Still, they are treated like dirt," he added.
"We need to draw the attention of all decision makers, not to make them see that the laws are there, but because of their total lack of attention working children and housemaids suffer terrible conditions."
According to a 1999 Indonesian Labor Survey, the nation is home to over 1.3 million maids, of which over 300,000 are between the ages of 10 and 18.
In the past few years, Indonesian housemaids have been physically treated worse than animals by their employers over minor reasons, with some suffering irreversible physical consequences, such as blindness, severe facial burns or disfigurement.
In Jakarta, the city administration has already issued Bylaw No. 6/1993 on Housemaids.
In fact, most of the capital's councillors have admitted that they know nothing about it.
Head of the data division of the city's Public Relations Office Haidil Anwar Kohar had earlier said that the bylaw had been issued following a number of instances of housemaid abuse.
"Before the bylaw was issued, there had been a case where a maid had a hot iron applied to her face by her employer in Pejompongan, Central Jakarta," said Haidil.
"But to date, the bylaw has never been enforced."
He said that the city administration had not enforced the bylaw as so far, as it had never received complaints from housemaids.
The case that occurred in Pejompongan was handled by the police, who charged the employer under the Criminal Code.
Bylaw No. 6/1993 on Housemaids
Article 2: Oversight of housemaids' welfare is the responsibility of the city governor.
Articles 3 and 4 stipulate that a domestic help agency should provide, among other things, shelter, training, skills, and mental and spiritual guidance to potential housemaids.
Article 10: The Role of Employer
Include obligation to pay wages, while providing food, clothes, supervision, proper shelter, good treatment, adequate rest, breaks for religious worship, and medical treatment, and to pay unemployment compensation if the maid is dismissed.