When it comes to human rights and protecting vulnerable groups against worker abuse and discrimination, including domestic workers, laws protecting them are required. In this context it is encouraging to learn of a recent confirmation by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo that the domestic worker protection bill is being finalized.
Jokowi made the confirmation after the government submitted a draft of the Regulation in lieu of Law on Job Creation No. 2/2022 to replace the previous Job Creation Law, which was considered conditionally unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court for failure to follow the mandatory procedures from the beginning of its formation.
The President’s announcement is the final step in a shift of the government’s stand to support the draft of the domestic worker protection bill, initiated by the House of Representatives, after being stalled for nearly 20 years in the legislation process.
Contrary to the Job Creation Law, which is perceived as a “pro-business” policy and remains controversial, the government is pushing for completing the draft to protect the rights of vulnerable domestic workers. This is in line with the demands of trade unions and NGO coalitions for domestic workers and deserves appreciation with a thumbs up.
The majority of the political party factions in the House has indicated their agreement to start and deliberate the draft as quickly as a presidential decree. However, the House needs more time to involve and accommodate relevant stakeholders and prepare a more comprehensive law, including for Indonesian migrant workers who also experience similar abuses of rights and violence.
Domestic workers are even more vulnerable to abuse because they work in private homes. They are often subject to working long hours, discrimination, verbal and sexual harassment, with no work contract or attention to occupational safety or their health, in poor living conditions. Some abuse cases involve child or forced labor or even “modern slavery.”
While the draft law on domestic worker protection has been stalled with no progress, a number of abuse cases have occurred without any remedial action or compensation for the victims. The government and the House should remove “regulatory capture” to act as a regulator rather than as an employer who may have a conflict of interest in employing domestic workers. They should finalize and pass the bill as soon as possible.
A number of proposed recommendations for finalizing the draft law at least cover the content and scope of a regulatory framework and make available a mechanism for enforcing the law, skills development and raising awareness on the issue of domestic workers with relevant stakeholders.
To date, there are 76 million domestic workers around the globe, mostly women (76 percent), with 55 percent of them working in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, including 4.2 million domestic workers in Indonesia. Of the total, around 110,000 are children under 18. It is estimated that 70 percent of the 4.5 million Indonesians working abroad are employed in the domestic sector. Domestic workers represent 4.5 percent of Indonesia’s employees and 81 percent of them are employed informally.
It is crucial for the government and the House to revisit the draft as a priority, although the terms have been degraded from the initial draft which was more in compliance with the International Labor Standard of ILO Convention 189 on Domestic Workers. Adopting the principles of the ILO convention will allow a reference for protecting domestic workers who work in Indonesia and overseas. Ratifying the convention would strengthen the country’s confidence in dealing with the issue of Indonesian domestic and migrant workers overseas. Despite the government’s renewed attention to the domestic worker legislation, trade unions and NGOs involved with the rights of domestic workers have expressed concern that the law, when enforced, will be toothless as it has no enforcement and punishment mechanisms that will make it effective.
Developing an online platform to register domestic workers and their employers is crucial to ensure that the law is enforced because there is now no access to monitoring the employment of maids. An online platform would provide a way for domestic and migrant workers to report rights abuses and labor disputes.
Sexual harassment cases need to be ruled by a specific approach and procedures requiring protection for the victims. A trade union for domestic workers would also provide the necessary support when needed.
However, protection for households on the principle of the presumption of innocence and confidentiality also needs to be maintained.
Recognizing domestic work as a job that requires certain skills and competency basically transforms the workers from informal to more formal status. The involvement of a technical vocational training center would be important in providing skilling, re-skilling and upskilling according to the specific job specialization. This could be linked to public employment services.
Lastly, it is crucial that the future bill on domestic workers guarantees access to social protection, including access to Health Care and Social Security (BPJS Kesehatan) and Workers Social Security (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan).
Addressing the above issues would help achieve the objective of domestic worker protection legislation that would reduce their vulnerability and protect their rights. This will contribute to Sustainable Development Goals that underline “no one will be left behind.”