DPR Didesak Amnesti Internasional Segera Sahkan UU Perlindungan PRT
Amnesty International Urges Indonesian Parliament to Ratify Domestic Workers Law
Reporter : Rusdi Kamal
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
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Jakarta (B2B) - Amnesty Internasional mendesak DPR RI untuk secepatnya mengesahkan rancangan Undang-undang (UU) Perlindungan Pekerja Rumah Tangga (PPRT) sebelum masa kerja mereka berakhir pada September 2014.
"UU ini penting karena pekerja rumah tangga yang tereksploitasi memerlukan perlindungan hukum secepatnya," kata Josef Roy Benedict, Campaigner - Indonesia dan Timor-Leste dari Amnesty International Secretariat melalui pernyataan tertulisnya, Jumat.
Desakan tersebut disampaikan terkait jutaan pekerja rumah tangga di Indonesia beresiko terhadap eksploitasi ekonomi dan secara rutin dianiaya, sementara hidup dalam kondisi tak menentu tanpa perlindungan. Sementara itu Hari Pekerja Rumah Tangga Nasional terus diperingati pada tiap 15 Februari.
Menurut dia, pekerja rumah tangga masih secara umum menjadi warga kelas dua di Indonesia. Dari jumlah jutaan tersebut sebagian besar adalah perempuan dewasa maupun gadis, beresiko menghadapi eksploitasi dan banyak yang dianiaya, namun mereka tidak memiliki sarana hukum untuk memperbaiki situasi mereka sendiri.
Pendapat demikian, katanya dia, disampaikan Papang Hidayat, peneliti Indonesia Amnesty International.
Sedangkan menurut Organisasi Buruh Internasional (International Labour Organisation , ILO), ada sekitar 2,6 juta pekerja rumah tangga di Indonesia pada 2004 tahun paling akhir di mana data statistiknya tersedia. Dan diyakini jumlah mereka akan terus bertambah tiap tahun.
"Di bawah hukum Indonesia, pekerja rumah tangga tidak menikmati perlindungan yang sama dengan pekerja-pekerja lainnya. Mereka seringkali hidup dengan upah yang menyedihkan dalam kondisi yang buruk, dan dihambat untuk melawan penindasan yang dilakukan oleh majikan-majikan mereka," katanya.
Akan tetapi, naifnya RUU tentang pekerja rumah tangga, telah masuk agenda legislasi sejak 2010, namun RUU ini sering ditunda untuk disahkan.
Padahal, seperti disampaikan Papang Hidayat, katanya lagi, pekerja rumah tangga memiliki hak-hak yang sama dengan para pekerja lainnya di Indonesia, seharusnya RUU it disahkan.
"RUU ini penting disahakan menjadi UU, apalagi sejumlah kasus-kasus yang dramatis terjadi sepanjang beberapa tahun terakhir pekerja rumah tangga berada dalam situasi yang makin rawan di seluruh Indonesia," katanya.
Ia menyebut contoh, nama Siti Nur Amalah menjadi berita utama pada Desember 2013, setelah majikannya di Jakarta membuatnya kelaparan, memukulinya, dan melakukan pelecehan seksual terhadapnya selama periode empat bulan di 2012.
"Oleh karena RUU tersebut perlu segera disahkan, " katanya bahwa Amnesty International berdiri bersama dalam solidaritas dengan Jaringan Nasional Advokasi Pekerja Rumah Tangga (Jala-PRT).
Jakarta (B2B) - Amnesty International has urged the Indonesian Parliament to speed ratification of the Domestic Workers Law prior to their session ending in September 2014.
Amnesty International official for Indonesia and Timor Leste Secretariat, Josef Roy Benedict, told Antara in London, on Friday, that domestic workers have been exploited and need immediate legal protection.
"Millions of domestic workers in Indonesia are at risk of being exploited, both economically and physically, while living without protection," Benedict said.
Therefore, besides urging the Indonesian Parliamentary to ratify the domestic workers law, Amnesty International also hoped its articles would be consistent with international standards.
In particular, the international standards for domestic workers law included regulated work hours, adequate wages and living cost guarantees, leave periods, and legal conditions for women´s needs.
"There should be a decisive legal policy to respond to employers who violate their employees," Benedict stressed.
According to Indonesian Amnesty Internationals Researcher, Papang Hidayat, domestic workers are second class citizens in Indonesia, and despite its huge numbers, most workers are women who risk exploitation and do not have legal assistance.
"It is very embarrassing that the parliament has been slow to ratify the domestic workers law, while its draft bill has been on their agenda since 2010," Papang said.
Some dramatic cases have involved Indonesian domestic workers during the last few years, one of which is the case of Siti Nur Amalah, who had made headlines in December 2013.
News reports detailed how Siti Nur Amalah worked as a domestic worker in Jakarta. Her employer molested her, as well as starved her for four months in 2012, causing various trauma, including making her blind, according to reports.
Meanwhile, the UN International Labor Organization (ILO) reported that some 2.6 millions people worked in the domestic sector in 2004, and that number has increased each year.
Since July 2011, Indonesia has not ratified ILO convention Number 189, dealing with proper work for domestic workers, even though President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had been committed to supporting it when this convention was proposed.
Amnesty International officials said it stood with Indonesian National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy (Jala-PRT) in urging all involved to ratify the domestic worker protection law immediately, they also highlighted the commemoration of National Domestic Workers Day on February 15.
