SURABAYA (ILO News): Domestic workers also represent the single largest group of female salaried workers toiling away in households of others in their own country or abroad. Despite of the importance of the role of domestic workers, domestic work is still not recognized as work. Since their work is done in private households, which are not considered work places in many countries, their employment relationship is not addressed in national labour laws or other legislation, denying them recognition as workers entitled to labour protection.

According to an ILO study in 2004, there were an estimated 2,593,399 domestic workers in Indonesia; of these, 1.4 million domestic workers were estimated to work in Java alone. The great majority of domestic workers are female with low educational levels; they mainly come from poor families in rural communities. Apart from adult domestic workers, one of the most common child labour forms found in Indonesia is child domestic labour. It is estimated, however, that approximately 688,000 children under the age of 18 are domestic workers in Indonesia, and some estimates indicate that at least 25 per cent of domestic workers are younger than 15 years.

To address issues related to domestic workers and child domestic workers and as an effort to provide recognition to domestic workers, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and SmartFM Surabaya, a leading radio station in Surabaya, will organize an interactive talkshow, “Problems and Solutions on Domestic Workers and Child Domestic Workers in East Java” on Wednesday, 7 March 2012, at Singgasana Hotel, Surabaya, East Java.

The talkshow will present Hari Sugiri Head of Provincial Manpower Office in Surabaya), Silvia Kurnia Dewi (Woman Coalition for Pro-Democratic), Yoan Nursari Simanjuntak (Head of LPPM, University of Surabaya) and Muhammad Nour (the ILO’s Programme Coordinator on Migrant Workers).

This talkshow is held in conjunction with the ILO’s effort to promote the ratification of the Convention No. 189 on Domestic Workers which was recently adopted at the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva in June 2011. The talkshow aims to raise awareness and share knowledge on adult and child domestic work in East Java and to strengthen as well as empower domestic workers organizations, both those working with adult and child domestic workers, as well as migrant domestic workers locally.

The talkshow also provides an interactive forum for participants to discuss the connection between foreign domestic workers, domestic workers, child domestic workers, as well as migrant domestic workers, and highlight the problems each of the domestic worker groups encounter.

The Surabaya talkshow is the first talkshow of a series of talkshows on domestic workers and child domestic workers held by the ILO under its Combating Forced Labour and Trafficking on Migrant Workers, as part of its campaign to promote the rights of domestic workers. The remaining four talkshows will be conducted in Makassar, Bandung, Kupang, and Medan.

For further information, please contact:

Muhamad Nour
ILO’s Programme Coordinator for Migrant Workers
Tel.: +6221 3913112 ext. 136
Email

Dede Sudono
Programme Coordinator of the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC)
Tel.: +6221 3913112 ext. 126
Email

Gita Lingga
Media Officer
Tel.: +6221 3913112 ext. 115
Email