Give Legal Protection To Household Workers, Commission XIII Of The House Of Representatives Will Fight For Ratification Of The PPRT Bill

Chairman Of Commission XIII DPR Willy Aditya/DOK PHOTO: Nailin In Saroh-VOI

JAKARTA - Commission XIII of the House of Representatives will continue to pursue the discussion of the Draft Law on the Protection of Domestic Workers (PPRT) so that it can soon be ratified into law.

Chairman of Commission XIII DPR Willy Aditya emphasized that the PPRT Bill is important to provide legal certainty and protection for household workers.

"We will step on the gas to carry out this long-delayed discussion. This concerns the protection of the Indonesian people, especially for the sake of the community who work as household workers," said Willy Aditya, Wednesday, October 30.

According to Willy, the ratification of the PPRT Bill is in line with the vision and mission of President Prabowo Subianto's administration, especially regarding the increase in Indonesia's human resources (HR).

"There is an affirmation in President Prabowo's aspirations regarding increasing human resources, the DPR is certainly always ready to accelerate it. We will start from this PPRT Bill with additional new energy in the DPR," he said.

Willy explained that the DPR continues to be committed to fighting for all policies that favor the people. This includes accelerating the discussion of the PPRT Bill, which has been waiting for almost two decades.

Many cases related to PRT friends cannot be followed up because there is no special regulatory law regarding PRT legal protection. This is what we will fight for," said Willy.

"The DPR must be at the forefront to protect the entire community through its legislative function by making laws, including protection for domestic workers," he added.

The number of domestic workers in Indonesia is estimated to reach 5 million people. PRT professions are often in vulnerable situations. This is because PRT does not have an official recognition as a worker so it does not get basic rights such as decent wages, social security, and protection from violence.

Data from Komnas Perempuan shows that between 2019 and 2023 there were at least 25 reported cases of domestic violence, including physical and sexual violence. Without clear regulations, many cases end up without legal proceedings.

One case of violence against domestic violence can be seen from the incident that happened to RN (18) in 2022. The domestic worker from Cianjur experienced a series of torture from her employer.

As a result, RN was taken to Gatot Subroto Army Hospital and traumatized. The cases that hit RN are often experienced by many other domestic workers, but not all of them are revealed.

The purpose of the PPRT Bill itself is so that there is an acknowledgment of domestic violence as workers who have rights and receive legal protection. Starting from protection from acts of violence, discrimination, exploitation, and harassment.

The PPRT Bill also provides legal certainty governing relations between PRT, employers, government, and other related parties. Then guarantee domestic rights, such as the absence of discrimination based on gender, nation, race, religion, ethnicity, language, and skin color, as well as increasing knowledge, expertise, domestic skills and improving their welfare.

The Legislation Body (Baleg) of the DPR has confirmed that the PPRT Bill will be one of the bills included in this year's list of national legislation programs (Prolegnas).

Willy, who is also the former deputy chairman of the DPR Baleg, explained that the PPRT Bill in the past period was actually complete and had a letter from the previous president to discuss it with the DPR.

"However, due to political conditions at that time, the completion of the PPRT Bill was postponed," he concluded.