Imagine for a moment what your every day is like as one of the approximately 2.6 million domestic workers in Indonesia, the majority of whom are women and girls – some as young as 12 or 13 years.
Everyday for your employer and their family:
- You generally need to cook, wash clothes, clean the house, look after children and do the shopping.
- You often work very long hours, being allowed little or no rest, reports indicate some domestic workers being forced to work 21-22 hours per day, seven days a week.
- You are likely to not be permitted to take holiday leave (even public holidays)
- You sometimes don’t get paid for months and when you do, often it is less money than you agreed to when you first were employed – and much less than minimum wage in Indonesia.
- You may also not be able to leave your employers house, or are prevented from joining meetings or social events outside the home. Perhaps you are even locked in your room at night.
- You live with a high risk of experiencing physical and sexual violence, and very limited opportunities to seek justice for this when it occurs, not only due to limitations in the law, but also as you are afraid to speak out against your employer as you may lose your job.
Imagine this, everyday…
Women domestic workers in Indonesia face human rights abuses at work including economic exploitation, poor working conditions as well as gender-based discrimination. The approximately 2.6 million domestic workers are subjected to physical, psychological and sexual violence. In Indonesia, women domestic workers are not protected by current legislation safeguarding workers rights, in particular the 2003 Manpower Act (No.13/2003, Undang-Undang tentang Ketenagakerjaan).
For a number of years, civil society groups working on the rights of domestic workers have been campaigning for a specific law on domestic workers that will recognize them legally as workers and that will safeguard their rights.
Imagine for a moment, what you can do to change the everyday for domestic workers in Indonesia.
The Indonesian parliament has included a domestic workers bill in their legislative agenda for 2010. Domestic worker groups coordinated by the domestic workers coalition Jala-PRT have planned a series of activities over the next few months to ensure the bill is debated and that it integrates international human rights standards. To support the initiative of Jala-PRT and its global friends, and to highlight the following concerns, we ask YOU to take action now by adding your name to the letter below.
Your name and details will be added to a copy of this letter and sent to the Chair of the Parliamentary Commission IX. This commission will initially debate and amend the draft bill.
Take action now and help create a better everyday.
