JAKARTA: Indonesia’s parliament passed a law on Tuesday (Apr 21) to protect the rights of domestic workers after more than two decades of deliberations and multiple delays.
The bill was first introduced in 2004 to protect the country’s 4.2 million domestic workers, almost 90 per cent of them women according to data from the Ministry of Manpower.
They were previously not legally classified as workers, meaning they were forced to operate in an informal and unregulated economy, exposed to exploitation and abuse.
Cheers and claps erupted from the audience as House Speaker Puan Maharani brought down the gavel during Tuesday’s plenary session to indicate the law had been adopted.
“The enactment of a Law on the Protection of Domestic Workers aims to provide legal certainty for both domestic workers and employers, and to prevent all forms of discrimination, exploitation, and abuse against domestic workers,” Minister of Law Supratman Andi Agtas told the plenary.
“For the government, this is a source of happiness because, as I recall, President Prabowo Subianto … also expressed his wish for this bill to be completed,” Supratman was quoted as saying by local news outlet Detik.
“And thank God the leadership of the House of Representatives and all our colleagues at the Legislative Body of the House of Representatives were able to complete it. This is certainly good news for the government, as the bill has finally been realised …,” he said.
Domestic workers will now be entitled to vocational training, health and unemployment benefits.
The law also specifically prohibits the hiring of children under 18 as domestic workers – a common practice in a country where less than a third of people complete high school.
The legislation does not quantify a minimum wage, but provides for a 12-month period to work out supporting regulations, including penalties for those who flout the law.
“It feels like a dream, this has been a 22-year struggle for us marginalised women to gain protection,” said domestic worker Ajeng Astuti.
The Jala PRT domestic workers’ rights group, which had been advocating for the law, hailed it as a “historic” moment.
“Most domestic workers are women workers who have been neglected all this time; now there is recognition and protection,” Jala PRT coordinator Lita Anggraini told AFP.
But she warned “the struggle is not over” and a public education campaign would be needed to teach employers about their responsibilities.
The group reported more than 3,300 cases of violence against domestic workers between 2021 and 2024, including physical and psychological abuse, economic exploitation, even human trafficking.
In 2023, nine people in South Jakarta, including a 70-year-old woman, were given sentences of up to four years for abusing and torturing a young domestic worker who was beaten, burnt with cigarettes, and chained to a dog cage.