Day of respite proposed for Indonesia's mistreated maids

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.