Lawsuit filed against President for not protecting Indonesian domestic workers

Activists file lawsuit against SBY, aides on negligence

Elly Burhaini Faizal, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 04/07/2011 8:00 AM | National

Activists have submitted a citizen lawsuit against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his aides and the House of Representatives, for failing to protect domestic workers in the country and abroad.

“This lawsuit signals that we want stronger protection for our domestic workers,” the National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy (Jala PRT) coordinator, Lita Anggraini, told The Jakarta Post after filing the lawsuit at the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.

Liti said the government should make more efforts to better protect domestic workers against physical and psychological abuse.

“Many Indonesian domestic workers still work and live in poor conditions due to the absence of proper laws needed to protect them against mistreatment from employers,” she said.

In total, seven entities are included in the lawsuit, comprising Yudhoyono, Vice President Boediono, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, Law and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar and Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar, as well as the Indonesian Labor Placement and Protection Agency (BNP2TKI) and the House of Representatives.

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