Advancing social justice, promoting decent work
ILO is a specialized agency of the United Nations
English
Lack of OSH protection for domestic workers
Some professions have already known the term of OSH, Occupational Health and Safety. But it is not the case of domestic workers. Let alone OSH, even a law about them has not been included into the National Legislative Program after being submitted over 10 years ago. Thus, the lack of protection for this profession is complete. So, how do they protect themselves from accidents at workplace?
A morning at the Pakubuwono View Apartment, South Jakarta.
Dozens of women were lining up in front of the main gate of the apartment. They were domestic workers.
According to the regulations, whoever entering the apartment, either workers or guests, must pass through a security inspection.
“Every day, I do sweeping, mopping and ironing. Sometimes, I do some works beyond my job description, going up, wiping the balcony, the highest glass window. It is located on 51st floor. I felt my phobia on high altitude there. That is why, until now, I’m afraid of high altitude.”
Her name is Sunarti. Her employer’s house is located on the 37th floor. The short-haired woman has been working there for two years.
Santi -- the way she is called -- starts her work by cleaning up the toilet. By her bare hands, she cleans up ceramics on the bathtub, floors and walls. Having worked for eight years as domestic workers, cleaning up bedroom, kitchen, toilet, and even shopping have become her daily activities. At first, she did not know that what she had done would endanger herself.
“I just realized later that ahh... this was what I had experienced so far, that the small thing I did could be dangerous. Regarding electricity, for example, I have to deal with electricity almost every day, like vacuum cleaner. I also knew later that a woman should not lift water gallon, because it could damage her ribs.”
One of the dangers is sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), a chemical substance contained in the floor cleanser. The substance can cause irritation on skin and eyes. Meanwhile, another substance, cresylic acid, may cause cancer.
“We touch chemical substances almost every day and I don’t know the details of the danger. I clean up the bathroom using chemical substances. Each employer has his or her own cleanser. It’s the most dangerous one because I touch it every day. Sometimes, my employer does give gloves, but as a worker, I don’t feel comfortable. That’s the highest risk.”
Due to her unawareness, she could finally see her nescience. Once, her hand skin blistered because of detergent.
“I once washed clothes using a Korea-made detergent. My hands got blistered and itchy.”
Another story came from Winarsih. The woman who comes from Purwokerto was just aware about the danger behind her job after being a domestic worker for 13 years. She gave an example when tidying up household stuffs made of glasses.
“When tidying up, I sometimes feel some worries. The cupboard is made of glass. Plates, all stuffs are stored inside. I sometimes think whether they will fall down or not. I’m worried that suddenly it will collapse and all the stuffs will fall down. I’m really worried.”
That is the reason why the stuffs must be tidied up based on the order of usage.
“The kitchen is small. The stuffs are piled up. Sometimes, when we are going to take one stuff, we must put others down first. My employer doesn’t care. Sometimes, they want me to rush, so the stuffs fall and get scattered. They want me to replace them by slashing my salary. So, when necessary, we arrange the kitchen once a month. The stuffs used every day are put more on the front to make the work easier.”
What Santi and Wiwin know are parts of OSH. Unfortunately, not all domestic workers have any knowledge about that. Moreover, only a few domestic workers join into trade unions for domestic workers. What are their stories? Listen to them tomorrow.
This reporting is the first in-depth radio reporting on the protection of domestic workers from a series of two in-depth reporting by Nurika Manan of KBR Saga and aired on 25 August 2015. The reporting is part of the ILO’s media fellowship programme on domestic workers and child domestic labour, jointly conducted in collaboration with the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Jakarta and eight selected leading, national mass media.
The media fellowship programme was part of the campaign conducted by the ILO through its Promoting Decent Work for Domestic Workers to End Child Domestic Work (PROMOTE) Project. Funded by the United States Department of Labour (USDOL), PROMOTE Project aims at reducing child domestic workers significantly by building institutional capacities of partners to promote Decent Work for Domestic Workers (DWDW) effectively. The Project works to increase the knowledge, skills and expertise on reducing child domestic workers and promote DWDW.
