After more than two decades of delays, Indonesia's parliament has passed a law legally recognizing domestic workers as workers and granting them basic labor protections. The vote ends what advocates called a 22-year struggle to bring millions of people — most of them women — under the protection of the country's labor laws.
The country has approximately 4.2 million domestic workers, nearly 90% of them women. Before the law passed, they had no legal classification as workers, leaving many employed informally with no contracts, no mandated rest days, and no recourse for abuse. Some entered the profession as young as 12 years old.
Under the new Domestic Workers Protection Law, workers will be entitled to health insurance, pension coverage, and rest days. Placement agencies will no longer be allowed to deduct wages. Hiring anyone under 18 as a domestic worker will be prohibited. Regulators have one year to draft the detailed implementation rules.
The BBC reported that some workers wept when the vote was announced. "It feels like a dream," said Ajeng Astuti, one of the domestic workers. "This is our 22-year struggle as marginalised women to gain protection." Another worker, Jumiyem from Yogyakarta, said simply: "We've been longing for this, and now we can feel it."
Rights groups welcomed the law but warned it is only a first step. The advocacy organization Jala PRT recorded more than 3,300 cases of violence against domestic workers between 2021 and 2024, including physical and psychological abuse. Lita Anggraini of the group told AFP that a public education campaign would be needed to make employers aware of their new legal responsibilities. "The struggle is not over," the group said.
