Maids call for fair treatment, protection

Monday, February 16, 2009 

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta 

Hundreds of members of the National Advocacy Alliance for Domestic Workers (JALA PRT) staged a rally at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle Sunday morning.

The participants called for legal protection and equal treatment as members of the workforce.

"Low and unpaid wages, long working hours and domestic violence are ongoing issues that hve yet to be regulated by law," JALA PRT coordinator Lita Anggraini said, as quoted by kompas.com.

She said the government should take bolder actions to protect domestic workers especially after the extensively reported death of one maid, Sunarsih, in 2001 and the fact that abuse within housholds remains a chronic problem.

The rally was also held in commemoration of Maid Day (Hari PRT) which falls on Feb. 15. The date, Anggraini said, was chosen in memory of Sunarsih.

"We want the government to adopt Feb. 15 as a national day," she added.

Anggraini said further the organization will present a draft bill on domestic workers to the House of Representatives next week.

"This bill ... is a call for society to acknowledge, appreciate and protect maids," she said, adding the bill contained specific articles on protection, rights and responsibilities, including an appeal for instituting a maximum six-day work week. (amr)