Domestic Workers Protection Act Takes Effect, Employers Prepare to Comply, Experts Highlight Gaps in Worker Protections

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The ratification of the Domestic Workers Protection Act (UU PPRT) has received a positive response from various parties after 22 years of deliberation. The act was passed by the House of Representatives (DPR) RI during a plenary session at the DPR Building, Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday (21/4/2026). Through this regulation, the employment relationship between domestic workers (PRT) and employers is affirmed to be based on agreement and an employment contract as stipulated in Article 1 paragraph (5). Behind this ratification, several critical notes have emerged. Labour observer Timboel Siregar assesses that the UU PPRT still leaves fundamental issues, particularly regarding minimum rights guarantees and worker protection. According to Timboel, this condition has the potential to disadvantage PRT because the positions of workers and employers in the agreement are not equal. He views the bargaining power of PRT as tending to be lower. That imbalance, he continued, is influenced by the greater number of job seekers as PRT compared to the needs from employers. In addition, differences in knowledge levels between employers and workers also affect the content of the employment agreement. Timboel also highlighted the social security provisions in Article 16 of the UU PPRT, which he deems do not yet provide legal certainty. He explained that Article 16 paragraph (1) mandates PRT as participants in the Premium Assistance Recipients (PBI) of the National Health Insurance (JKN), with premiums paid by the government. However, Article 16 paragraph (2) stipulates that JKN premiums can be paid by the employer according to the agreement or contract. “If the employer does not want to include it in the contract and does not want to register, is there a sanction? There is none,” he said.