Sunday 11 November 2012

PROTECTION OF HOUSEMAIDS MUST BE HUMAN RIGHTS ORIENTED


Housemaids (PRT), the most up to date term was pevorative for domestic workers in home who helped employers in their non-profit daily activities.

Member of Commission IX of House Hidayatulloh felt PRT was becoming a significant element who made life easier for individuals especially in their domestic life in the urban areas.

Signification of the one element of life was not ignorable from the nation’s viewpoint considering that there were probably around 11 million of recorded Indonesian citizens who had the profession as housemaids (PRT).

“It seems reasonable if further on housemaids were given an important position in the context of legal protection which acknowledge the role and rights and responsibility of that profession” Poempida disclosed to Business News (4/9).

Member of the Working Committee for the PRT Bill in House stated that the complexity of problems in the PRT profession was basically not different from that of other professions. However the specific nature of PRT was that basically the employers were individuals (famiies) not an organization while the scope of PRT activities embarked on the private zone of the employer.

Definitely PRT had direct access to private or confidential information of the employer as the result of direct interactions in thei daily activities. “Domestic security of the household very often relied on the integrity and responsibility of PRT” Pempida said.

As a profession generally held by the marginal’s, protection for PRT must be given and be managed on the basis of human rights principles; in this case the position of PRT was in the domain of law and constitution of RI.

The process of passing the PRT Bill was somehow dilemmatic in some issues: firstly, the basic mechanism of remuneration referred to the demographic social economy as parameter which could not be generalized in all of Indonesia. Secondly, the mechanism of control of the decision makers. Thirdly, formalization of the PRT profession which needed standardized competence and trainings. Fourthly, the legal process in case of dispute between the PRT and the employer. Fiftly, the career stairway of PRT which was non-existent.

Reactions from those in the position of employers was generally their dislike for formalities and administration formalities as consequences of the implementation of the PRT law in the future.

Commission IX of House had their commitment to answer all of the above challenges by scheming up a Law which was based on the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.

“Compilation of references and various simulations of system thinking were the base that I use as reference to be logically and with full sense of responsibility take part in the process of law making of this PRT Law” Pempida concluded.
 
Business News - September 7, 2012
           

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