Jakarta, IO – The law is urgently needed to ensure the safety and well-being of domestic workers who should receive equal treatment before the law. However, the bill, initiated by the House, has yet to beratifie since 2004.
Lina Anggraini, an activist and founder of JALA PRT conveyed her concern toward the protection of domestic workers’ rights which is often violated due to absence of regulation. In a virtual discussion on Wednesday (18/1), Lina expressed her appreciation to President Jokowi who directed his ministers to expedite the ratification of the bill.
“I hope the bill can be ratified soon and offer better protection for domestic workers and employers as well as employment agencies. The bill has been included in the list of priority bills in 2023 and will become the initiative of the House,” said Jokowi in a press statement on Wednesday (18/1), reported Kompas.
According to Lina, domestic workers are prone to exploitation due to several factors such as unrestricted working hours, no holiday and access to social security. In addition, 75 percent out of 4.2 million domestic workers said they have experienced discrimination, abuse and physical as well as psychological violence. Thus, the bill is expected to protect domestic workers from arbitrary treatments by employers and agencies especially since Manpower Ministry Regulation 2/2015 is considered inadequate as a legal umbrella.
Read: Jokowi officially signs Law 5/2023, fugitives can no longer hide in Singapore
Meanwhile, chairman of the bill’s working committee Willy Aditya said the House is trying to expedite the ratification of the bill that has been delayed for 19 years. According to him, the process at the House Legislation Body (Baleg) is already complete and the bill is waiting for ratification at the Plenary Session. (bp)