By Organizing, We Are Not Alone

The Solidarity Center

"By Organizing, We Are Not Alone"

Interview with an Indonesian domestic worker As a college student and union leader in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Sayuti may not be a typical domestic worker, but she is passionate about domestic worker rights. Working part-time to pay for her and her sister’s educations, she hopes to start her own business one day, but she says she will keep working with the union forever. At 21, Sayuti (like many Indonesians, she has only one name) has already been a domestic worker for three years. For her, it was a job, like any other. During the first year, she worked full-time, from 6:30 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m., taking care of two children in a household where both parents worked. Now she studies English at a foreign language academy and works three hours a day on a flexible schedule for employers who treat her with respect. Sayuti knows that she is lucky. “I get paid IDR 400,000 (Indonesian rupiah, about $45) a month doing laundry, ironing, sweeping, and mopping the floor,” she told Willy Balawala, a program officer in the Solidarity Center’s Indonesia office. “By Yogya(karta) standards, the wage is relatively high. Some other domestic workers work full day and night, and stay at their employer’s house, earning only IDR 300,000 [$34] or even 200,000 [$30].” Sayuti does not receive health care, paid vacation, or other benefits, although her employer encourages her to take national holidays off and gives her money to buy books if she needs it. “If I get sick, my employer will give me some medication and take me to see a doctor,” she said. Every year, she takes a two-week trip to her hometown of Wonosuri, where her sister is in high school. In 2005, Sayuti read a newsletter produced by the Tunas Mulia Domestic Workers Union, which is headquartered in Yogyakarta with branches in a number of outlying districts. Struck by an article about a migrant domestic worker who was facing a death sentence, she contacted the organization to offer her assistance. She began attending meetings, some in remote areas late at night. She learned that organizing could be done by approaching domestic workers in street stalls. “The union’s mission and vision is to enable domestic workers to live in prosperity, away from violence, and for them to be proud of their job,” she said. “There should not be any violence against domestic workers. We want domestic workers to be regarded as regular workers who have bargaining power.” The Tunas Mulia Domestic Workers Union networks with many other local and national unions, union federations, and domestic worker rights coalitions, including JALA PRT (National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy), a Solidarity Center partner. It also belongs to the Asian Domestic Workers Network, whose members are unions from India, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Korea, Nepal, and many other countries, and to its parent organization, the International Domestic Workers Network. Such partnerships build power, Sayuti believes. “When Yogya was going to pass provincial regulation on manpower, we advocated including articles regarding domestic workers,” she said. “Soon Sleman district will have similar regulation, which is also a result of the network’s advocacy.” She believes that freedom of association and other worker rights are crucial for domestic workers, but there are many challenges, from public perception to raising awareness among domestic workers themselves. A common perception is that domestic work lacks economic value. “Actually, domestic workers make many economic contributions,” said Sayuti. “By having a domestic worker in their home, people can go to work feeling safe because someone is taking care of their house and children. Domestic work also contributes to poverty reduction. The poverty rate here is very high and there are not many employment opportunities. “People have a notion that domestic workers are only servants with no place in society, who deserve only to work in the kitchen and backyard of a household doing all the dirty chores,” she said. “When they hear or see domestic workers staging a demonstration on the street or meeting with government representatives, they think, ‘How can they do that when they are only domestic workers?’ It is not easy to change such a paradigm.” Many domestic workers are also reluctant to change the status quo. But Sayuti is persistent. “I’ll put it this way,” she said. “We will not be able to make a move if we stay inside the employer’s home. Staying inside the house can make us feel depressed. By organizing, we can feel that we are not alone.” A major challenge for domestic workers is safe migration. Thousand of Indonesia’s 2.5 million domestic workers migrate internally, from small villages to big cities. Others migrate to other countries such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, and the Persian Gulf states. Isolated from legal protections, and often not knowing the language, they may become victims of violence. Sayuti’s union is pressing to hold governments in origin and destination countries accountable. “It is the government’s responsibility to protect its citizens, in the country or overseas,” she said. With the spread of domestic worker rights groups throughout Indonesia and increased media coverage, public perceptions have begun to shift. A national draft bill to protect domestic workers is under deliberation and expected to pass soon. And Sayuti is hopeful that the passage of an international convention on domestic workers will provide an important benchmark. “Participating in this process has made it clear to me that domestic worker issues occur in other countries too, not only in Indonesia,” she said. “We hope that the International Labor Organization convention will bring greater attention to our common issues.” The Solidarity Center supports domestic workers' efforts to win their rights on the job and develop long-term policies for promoting decent work. Solidarity Center programs have helped partner organizations develop organizing strategies, advocate for policy change, and support international efforts to promote a standard-setting international convention on domestic work.