24 Juli 2007
Pandji Putranto, Jakarta
Imagine a 15-year-old girl from a village who has never been to a big city. She has never even been separated from her parents, family and community, and now has to work for a new family that she didn't know before. Anything could happen to her, ranging from severe abuse to exploitation.
Last March, Mayangsari, 17, died after being severely beaten by her employer in North Jakarta. Unfortunately, the case received less public attention compared to the media hype about Ceriyati, an Indonesian migrant worker who risked her life as she escaped from her abusive Malaysian employer using a cloth rope.
While Mayangsari's death is an extreme case, there are thousands of untold sad stories about child labor in Indonesia. Those problems have, however, failed to make the headlines or come under the media spotlight
A survey conducted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the University of Indonesia four years ago revealed that there were almost 700,000 children under 18 working as child domestic labor (CDL) in Indonesia. This figure, however, does not take into account those working in rural or remote areas.
The main problem of CDL is mainly the fact that the public in general considers CDL to be a solution rather than a problem. The argument is that child domestic employment is much better than the unemployment or underemployment that commonly occurs in rural areas. Many are even against using the terminology of "laborers" or "workers", and insist on calling them "domestic helpers".
During a recent public debate over CDL in Jakarta, a representative of an employers' group argued that domestic employment said the term "helper" was more appropriate for child workers as they were employed in households so that standards for the jobs they did were difficult to set.
Worse, the government institution that primarily responsible in the field of child labor, i.e., the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, regards this type of employment as a non-priority sector.
The Association of Indonesian Domestic Worker Suppliers (APPSI) says it always faces difficulties in filing cases against individual employers as local manpower offices refuse to recognize the sector. Similarly, the police are reluctant to respond to complaints concerning child labor, saying the complainants should go to the local manpower office.
Employers in general do not feel guilty about employing minors. They instead feel proud that they are helping the children, whose poor parents are unable to send them to school or feed them. The employers often forget that making children work for more than 12 hours a day is not charity at all. Working behind closed doors is highly risky for children as not all employers are kind.
A study on CDL in South Jakarta found that 30 percent of the child workers surveyed said they had experienced "sexual violence" from male employers, ranging from light to severe harassment. No single case has ever been filed due to the absence of witnesses, except the victims, of course.
In mid-1999, the ILO launched a new convention, No. 182 on the elimination of the worst forms of child labor, to complement the existing ILO Convention No. 138 concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment. Indonesia ratified Convention No. 182 in 2000, making it among the first of the Asia Pacific countries to do so.
The convention requires state parties to take immediate action to eliminate the worst forms of child labor as a matter of urgency. Its ratification was followed by Presidential Decree No. 59 of 2002 on the National Plan of Action for the elimination of the worst forms child labor, which rates CDL as one of 13 priority sectors.
But a convention is just a piece of paper if concrete and tangible programs are not put in place on the ground. Nothing substantial has been done to combat CDL here so far. Indonesia found itself under the international spotlight after three UN rapporteurs questioned in 2006 Jakarta's commitment to fighting CDL abuses.
The government, through the State Ministry for Women's Empowerment, was quick to respond by issuing National Policy Guidelines on the Employment of CDL in Indonesia. These guidelines clearly ban the employment of CDL below the age of 15, while the employment of children between 15-18 should be regulated. Despite this, however, nothing has substantially changed, and there are as yet no significant programs to protect CDL.
What should be done?
It's time for the government to make CDL a priority sector for action. The number of child domestic workers is much higher compared to the number of children working in the other worst forms of employment in Indonesia. Child domestic workers are also easier to help than, for example, street children.
CDL should be incorporated into the nine-year free education program, targeting girls in rural areas in particular. This would support Indonesia's efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
Raising public awareness about the evils of child domestic labor is not sufficient. Those who violate the national policy guideline on the employment of CDL should be punished, socially and legally. Why should they employ children while there are so many jobless adults?
When marking National Children's Day, on July 23, we should keep in mind that there are millions of unfortunate children involved in child domestic labor. We should feel ashamed about it, so we should not celebrate Children's Day in a fancy way. The most important thing is that we stand behind the children, not forget about them.
The writer is a consultant who used to work for the International Labor Organization, specializing in child labor, for 14 years. He can be reached at pandji_putranto@yahoo.co.id.
