Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah has continually pushed for the provision of healthcare and social security for domestic workers, and has consistently disseminated information on the rights.
Fauziyah remarked that the number of domestic workers, with social security in employment and health, was still low.
"The data shows that the number of domestic workers covered by social security both in health and employment is still very minimal," the minister remarked while opening the virtual discussion on "National Women's Movement for the Protection of Domestic Workers" here on Wednesday.
Fauziyah further noted that the ministry will encourage BPJS Ketenagakerjaan (Workers Social Security Agency), the agency that manages workers' social security, to raise awareness, so that domestic workers are able to receive optimal protection.
"I will continue to push BPJS Ketenagakerjaan to inform our domestic workers to provide coverage to them," she remarked.
The need for domestic workers to receive social security is stipulated in Ministerial Regulation (Permenaker) No. 2 of 2015 on the protection of domestic workers.
The regulation outlines the requirements to become a domestic worker, such as employment agreements, rights, and obligations.
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According to BPJS Ketenagakerjaan's data, until 2018, some 149,566 domestic workers had received workers' protection as non-wage earners (BPU).
Some 147,548 of that figure were Indonesian migrant domestic workers, elderly and child caregivers, and housekeepers, with the rest working in the domestic sector.
Fauziyah reminded that the coverage was still small as data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) showed that in 2015, some 4.2 million people were employed as domestic workers in Indonesia, with the trend increasing annually.
To this end, the minister specifically requested that information be continually disseminated to expand the scope of protection for domestic workers in the country.
Fauziyah pointed out that domestic workers were vulnerable to facing exploitation at work.
"The dissemination of information aims to provide knowledge about workers' social security program, as many are not aware of the benefits," Minister Fauziyah added.
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