Participants in the Domestic Worker Skills School undertake practical training at a house on Jl. Paso, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, Sunday (18/6). The training program, facilitated by the National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy (JALA PRT) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Jakarta, offered skills training in housekeeping as well as in the English language to domestic workers in and around the capital.
It’s never too late to learn. This determination is what motivates 21 domestic workers in and around Jakarta to enroll in a domestic worker skills school. Not only does the school provide them with additional skills, it also equips them with general knowledge that will place them in a better bargaining position in front of their employers.
It is because of this that even though they are no longer categorized as young (average age of over 40) these female domestic workers are keen on participating in the Domestic Workers Skills School program organized by the National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy (Jala PRT). This school is part of the Promote project carried out by International Labor Organization (ILO) Jakarta.
There are 21 domestic workers taking part in the classes, which will go on until the end of September. They take part in the training enthusiastically. From the morning until the evening, they take part in training held on Jl. Pasi 52, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta.
That day, the lesson was an introduction to house cleaning tools and cleaning products for cleaning the living room floor, bathroom floor, kitchen floor and window glass.
There are 17 people in attendance. The other four are still on their Lebaran holiday. Of the 21 participants, as many as 17 have foreigners as employers. Most of the participants are from Central Java, others are from East Java, West Java, Yogyakarta and Lampung. They are all married and have one to three children. Some are even single parents. Most of them have been domestic workers for over 10 years.
In their studies at the school, the participants are taught by five instructors: Ludiah, Yuni, Leni, Marweni and Misgiyati, who are also domestic workers. They have previously taken part in training facilitated by ILO and have obtained certificates to teach domestic worker skills.
“Please place the edge of the mop properly into the bucket. You must hold it with two hands. If you use one hand, it will be hard,” said Ludiah when teaching her friends how to use a mop with a squeezer bucket.
Sarikem, 55, one of the participants, looked uncomfortable using the mop. “Honestly, it is the first time I’ve used this,” said Sarikem who works for an expatriate. “Just imagine that there are lots of red things (jokingly referring to Rp 100,000 notes),” Yuni said, giving the participants some motivation.
Faisal Sondeng, an instructor assessor, also teaches in the program. Other than learning to use a mop, the domestic workers also learn how to use a vacuum cleaner and a window glass cleaner.
“Cleaning equipment in my employer’s house varies. They have a special vacuum cleaner for the sofa. I was told off once for using it incorrectly,” said Oom Umiyati, 42, who has been working as a domestic worker since 1995.
Bargaining position
Not only do the women learn domestic worker skills every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, they also learn English twice a week. All of the training is free of charge.
“By having skills, domestic workers will be in a better bargaining position to get decent working conditions and pay,” said Jala PRT national coordinator Lita Anggraini.
Jala PRT started the domestic worker school in 2003 in Yogyakarta. Now, the domestic worker school can be found in Lampung, South Jakarta, South Tangerang, Semarang and Depok. The schools have trained as many as 4,296 domestic workers.
Arum Rahmawati, the chief technical advisor of ILO’s Promote project, hopes that the domestic worker schools not only improve the skills of domestic workers, but also help them understand their rights as domestic workers and therefore put in a better bargaining position in relation to their employers.
Providing education to domestic workers is necessary. Indonesia is the country with the most domestic workers in the world. Based on a Jala PRT rapid assessment in 2010, the number of Indonesian domestic workers is estimated to reach 16.1 million. According to a survey by ILO Jakarta in 2016, the number of domestic workers in Indonesia is around 4.5 million people. A Jala PRT record reveals that there were 230 domestic worker cases in 2016. As of the middle of June 2017, the figure has reached 143 cases.
However, as of today, domestic workers still have not been given adequate attention by the government and the House of Representatives. The domestic worker protection bill has been stuck at the House of Representatives for 13 years and its fate is still unclear. The 189 ILO Convention on Decent Jobs for Domestic Workers has also not been ratified by Indonesia.
Therefore, the availability of alternative education for domestic workers comes as an oasis amid the long barren struggle of Indonesian domestic workers.
