The Women Homeworkers Festival Returns to Jakarta Demanding Legal Protections for Homeworkers

The Trade Union Rights Centre (TURC), with support from the MAMPU Program, once again held the Women Homeworkers Festival on 14-15 December 2018 at Kerta Niaga, in the Kota Tua region of Jakarta. The festival was held to spread awareness about homeworkers, who are invisible as a workforce and live without adequate protection. The event also aimed to involve the general public, academia, government, and the media in working to increase protection for homeworkers.

Ani Marissa, a homeworker representative from the city of Solo, expressed her hope that homeworkers would be recognised by a national law so that they are able to receive social security, just as others workers do.

“Special regulations regarding homeworkers are absolutely necessary to provide recognition of their status and protection as workers. It would show that the state is active in protecting its citizens that work in any profession, without discrimination,” said Andriko Otang, TURC Executive Director.

Umar Kasim, Head of the Law Review Section of the Manpower Ministries Legal Bureau, stated that the Draft Ministerial Regulation has been submitted to the ministry for review. The next step is for the Ministry to review the draft and set it out into definite articles to ensure that the law is not open to misinterpretation.

The 2018 Women Homeworkers Festival featured a number of interesting activities including a screening of the film Angka Jadi Suara with director Dian Septi Trisnanti, an exhibition of artworks created by homeworkers, a presentation by feminist researcher Ruth Indiah Rahayu and founder of Magdalene Devi Asmarani, and a public discussion held with International Labour Organization (ILO) and academics. The festival was brought to a close with a music performance by bands Sister in Danger and Ridlo Sorak.

It is hoped that through the 2018 Women Homeworkers Festival, related stakeholders and the general public will become more familiar with homeworkers and contribute to pushing for new legal protection for homeworkers.