RI can learn from RP on workers' rights

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While Indonesia has not even formally recognized the profession of domestic workers, the Philippines parliament has been discussing powerful legislation to protect workers' rights at home and abroad.

As the second-largest exporter of migrant workers in Southeast Asia, the Philippines has already formulated a Comprehensive Regulatory Framework for Domestic Workers, dubbed locally as the domestic workers' Magna Carta.

Other countries that have already established such laws, include South Africa and Canada. But both countries are the users of such services, not the providers.

The Indonesian Women's Journal (Jurnal Perempuan) in its recent edition discussed how the framework would guarantee domestic workers' rights in the Philippines and provide legal protection in all aspects of employees' working relationships.

"I've always been amazed at how the Philippines government has advocated for their workers' rights abroad. Now I understand why. It is because soon they will have a very powerful law with which to protect the rights of domestic workers in their own country," said MB Wijaksana, the editor of the journal.

The act officially recognizes migrant worker professions, protects workers' rights, and has clauses dealing with child labor and the roles of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The act also specifies the definitions and forms of "hazardous work" along with legal definitions of physical, mental and sexual abuse, and ensures health treatments for workers.

"The amazing part about this law is the charter that obliges employers to register all domestic workers with a social security or insurance program," Wijaksana told The Jakarta Post recently.

The act also forms a National Task Force for Domestic Workers, a special body controlled directly by the president.

Members on the task force would include officials from the ministries of manpower, social welfare and education, along with representatives from the courts, health agencies and the police, migrant worker companies and the Special Commission On Women's Affairs.

The body would police the act and other regulations and establish and monitor task forces down to city level. It would also formulate "gender-sensitive" programs, advocate for the rights of women and children and serve as migrant workers' representatives abroad.

Indonesian Ministry of Manpower migrant worker advocate Marjono said this country would follow the Philippines initiative.

"We are going to do this step by step. The first step will be registering the workers with a social security system. However, both the government and the House are still considering how to protect foreign workers at the moment, so it is likely we will have to wait for a few more years to see the results," he told the Post.(006)