TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Several legal aid associations for women and domestic workers have implored the House of Representatives (DPR) to expeditiously pass the bill on the protection of domestic workers (RUU PPRT).

The bill has been repeatedly included in the priority list of the National Legislation Program (prolegnas) since 2004. It was also approved as the House’s initiative bill on March 21, 2023, but the bill has yet to be further discussed.

Lita Anggraini, coordinator of the National Advocacy Network for Domestic Workers (Jala PRT), believed that the primary obstacle to the bill's ratification lies within the House itself. “Particularly among the House members and leaders, most of whom or nearly 100 percent of them are employers, who are still very biased against domestic workers,” Lita said after a public discussion at Ke:kini Ruang Bersama in Cikini, Jakarta, on Tuesday, March 12.

According to Lita, domestic workers fall victim to psychological, physical, economic, or sexual violence every day. “They work under conditions of modern slavery, some of them are not even paid, and they have no social protection,” she underlined.

Meanwhile, the House continues to delay the bill's approval. Lita stated that the House must be responsible for any situation of violence and slavery that domestic workers may encounter.

“There is no more reason for the House, the House Speakers, to continue to hold the bill hostage. This is crucial for the fate of more than 5 million domestic workers in Indonesia,” said Lita.

Lita believed that the bill is fundamental for domestic workers to obtain legal protection and hoped that the House would immediately schedule further discussions to pass it into law before the end of its term in October.

DEFARA DHANYA PARAMITHA