Improving domestic workers’ job quality and standards

When learning that she passed the certification examination by the Profession Certification Agency, Misni, a domestic worker from Pandanwangi, East Java, could not hide her excitement. After more than 14 years working as domestic worker, she has never dreamed that she would earn a certification for her competency in doing domestic work.

Asminingsih, a domestic worker from Balearjosari, East Java, was also as excited as Misni when she learnt that she passed the certification examination. She never realized that her work as domestic worker could be certified like other profession.

“I just did my domestic work the way I know. After participating in the skill training, I learnt how to do the domestic work in more professional manner. Now I can cook, iron and clean better,” said Misni; while Asminingsih said that “I could do my cleaning, cooking and washing better and I even improve my communications with my employer.”

Misni and Asminingsih were two out of 80 participants of the pilot skill training programme for domestic workers in Malang, East Java. The programme covered 200 mandatory learning hours, consisting of housekeeping, family cooking, laundry and core competency on self-development. From the overall participants, around 74 participated to take and pass the certification examination.

Considering the circumatances, the skill training program were piloted using two approcahes. The center based approach required participants to attend the learning sessions and to stay in the education center to accomplish the mandatory learning hours while in the community based approach, the learning sessions are delivered at the community every week ends when the domestic workers are available to attend the trainings.

The skill training programme for domestic workers delivered high-quality benchmarked training using the National Work Competence Standard (SKKNI) for Domestic Work which was developed based on the SKKNI of the Government of Indonesia for Individual Service Serving Household adopted in 2015.

The skill training programme was part of the ILO’s efforts to improve domestic workers’ job quality and standards through its Promoting Decent Work for Domestic Workers (PROMOTE) Project. Funded by the United States Department of Labour (USDOL), PROMOTE Project aims at promoting decent work for domestic workers and reducing child domestic workers significantly.

“The skills development and professional recognition of domestic workers play an important role in promoting decent work for domestic workers. Skills training and certification based on nationally competency-standards can help raise the status of domestic worker as a recognized profession. This, in turn, would improve domestic workers’ employability and prospects for better employment condition,” said Arum Ratnawati, the Chief Technical Adviser of the ILO-PROMOTE Project.

This initiative was also an entry point for recognizing of domestic workers’ skills as professionals, focusing on improving and certifying domestic workers’ skills on housekeeping (including laundry) and family cooking. The curriculum of these two training programmes have been developed by the ILO-PROMOTRE Project. The curriculum was tested and tried out during this training initiative to be improved and finalized based on experiences and inputs from the participants during the training sessions.

“After joining the training, I am more confident. I hope that the training can change the negative perception about domestic workers as people tend to perceive our work as unskilled work, low wages and only for uneducated people. Now, I realize that I can do my housekeeping, laundry and cooking in a more professional manner,” said Widi Astutik, another participating domestic worker from Singosari. She added that her employer was now worried she would move to other employers.

Domestic work is an important occupation in many economies worldwide but it remains unrecognised as “work’’ and virtually invisible form of employment in many countries. It is also generally seen as unskilled work, a natural extension of women’s work in their own homes. Thus, many domestic workers endure very poor working conditions, many are underpaid, have no social security coverage, work long hours, in difficult and not always in safe conditions. Some are even vulnerable to the threat of trafficking, sexual, physical and psychological abuse.