The plight of

The plight of domestic helpers

Recently there was a media report that a domestic helper who had been employed for five days ran away with some of her boss's property.

Similar reports have often been heard and almost every time the reason is that these domestic helpers are not known well by house owners. They didn't have any identity cards and the house owners practically knew nothing about their background.

In Jakarta, there are hundreds of thousands of domestic helpers although their exact number is unknown as even neighborhood associations do not keep their data. The demand for them is increasing as there are more and more double income families.

Stories about domestic helpers turning criminal are few compared with stories of how they suffer in the hands of robbers that come into the houses where they work or of how they are badly treated by their bosses. Then also in most cases they are denied the right to decent pay and holidays.

Given the big number of domestic helpers in Jakarta, their problems, and the high demand for their services, it is time for the Jakarta administration to take care of this matter seriously and to ensure that mutually beneficial relations are forged between domestic helpers and their employers.

-- Warta Kota, Jakarta