Protecting Citizens from Crisis Threats, MPR Deputy Speaker Urges Passage of the PPRT Act

Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), Lestari Moerdijat, known as Rerie, has urged the immediate enactment of the Draft Law on Protection for Domestic Workers (RUU PPRT) into law. She said the approval would realise the constitutional mandate of the 1945 Constitution to protect every citizen.

“Rapidly enacting the RUU PPRT into law is part of realising a system of protection for the marginal groups most affected by the current economic volatility,” Rerie said in a statement on Thursday, 5 March 2026.

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, on Tuesday, 3 March, said they would soon begin a public hearing (RDPU) on the RUU PPRT.

The DPR agreed to involve fully trade unions and employer associations in discussions on the Employment Bill and the PPRT.

According to Rerie, the global economic turmoil arising from the US–Iran conflict is beginning to be felt domestically. The marginal and vulnerable groups must be prioritised to protect them from the impacts of the crises that are occurring.

Rerie argued that accelerating the passage of the RUU PPRT is one of the solutions for the country to provide protection for marginal communities that predominantly employ domestic workers.

Data from the National Network for Advocacy for Domestic Workers (JALA PRT) from 2021–2024 records 3,308 reports of violence against domestic workers.

“That figure should spur collective concern to address it promptly by providing comprehensive protection for domestic workers,” Rerie said.

Moreover, Rerie stressed, discussions on the RUU PPRT have effectively been going on for 22 years, since it was submitted to the DPR and included in the national legislation programme (Prolegnas) in 2004.

“I urge all parties to actively foster a spirit of solidarity as fellow citizens, in building a system that can protect every citizen, including domestic workers,” she concluded.