Omstandigheden domestic workers

Domestic workers

In Indonesië hebben meer dan een miljoen huishoudens een hulp in huis. Een pembantu rumah tangga (PRT), een domestic worker. Deze arbeidskrachten, 2.6 miljoen in totaal en voor het merendeel vrouw, wonen bij werkgevers in huis. Ze slapen in aparte kamertjes en doen al het werk in huis. Vloeren dweilen, kleren wassen, eten koken, strijken, vouwen, poetsen, op de kinderen letten en met ze spelen als de baas van huis is. Rijkere huishoudens hebben soms wel 4, of 5 PRT’s in huis. Eén voor de tuin, één die de kinderen ophaalt van school, één voor de keuken en de boodschappen, één als chauffeur, etc. etc.

De rol die PRT’s spelen in de Indonesische economie is van onschatbare waarde. Ze houden de (groot)stedelijke huishoudens op orde. Waardoor hun bazen, veelal gehuwde stellen, door kunnen met werken. Hoe afhankelijk de upper class is van hun pembantu blijkt ieder jaar aan het eind van de Ramadhan. Die periode is er geen kamer te krijgen in de goede hotels van Jakarta. Alles zit vol met rijke Jakartaanse families die niet voor zichzelf kunnen zorgen. Onderwijl bezoeken PRT’s massaal hun familie in kleine dorpjes ver weg van de stad.

Een pembantu verdient ongeveer 50 euro per maand, waarvoor ze 6 dagen per week 10 uur per dag werkt. En dan heb je het goed getroffen. Door de totale afwezigheid van wet- en regelgeving in Indonesië aangaande PRT’s genieten ze geen enkele bescherming. 7 dagen per week werken, salarissen van 20 euro per maand, werkdagen van 12, of zelfs 14 uur, onbeschofte behandeling, onverzekert werken, ontslag bij ziekte: het komt allemaal voor. Erger nog is de sociale status die ze genieten. Ze zijn het stof van de samenleving. Inwisselbaar, alom aanwezig en stom.

Bron: http://www.theatre-embassy.org/nl/blog/239.htm

Human Rights Watch
Domestic workers: Human Rights Watch conducted in-depth, individual interviews

with 86 female migrant domestic workers between 17 and 52 years old. The majority

of women were between 22 and 35 years old.

- We interviewed 64 domestic workers in Saudi Arabia: 20 Sri Lankans, 20

Filipinas, 22 Indonesians and two Nepalese. Interviews took place in Riyadh

and Jeddah in embassy shelters, the Saudi government MOSA shelter for

domestic workers in Riyadh, and in private homes. We interviewed 54

domestic workers in December 2006 and 13 domestic workers in March 2008,

including three of the same women we interviewed in 2006.

- We interviewed 22 recently returned domestic workers in Sri Lanka in

November 2006. We conducted our research in seven of the eight main

districts that send migrant women abroad. Interviews took place in private homes, labor recruitment agencies, pre-departure training centers, and the

Colombo airport shelter for returning workers.

Abuses against Domestic Workers

Many domestic workers may find responsible employers who treat them well, pay

them regularly, and ensure appropriate working conditions. These workers’

experiences often form the basis of the widespread perceptions in their home

countries of lucrative and exciting jobs abroad. Unfortunately, finding a situation

that meets minimum standards of decent work is often a matter of luck and not a

guarantee. And those who are not so lucky may become trapped in highly

exploitative situations with few exit options.

Some employers exploit their control over migrant domestic workers’ legal status

and their own freedom from obligations under Saudi labor laws. Interviews with

domestic workers, diplomats from labor-sending countries, and Saudi officials

underlined non-payment and underpayment of wages as the most common

complaint. In addition, many women reported the wages they received were lower

than the amount promised in contracts signed in their home countries.

Human Rights Watch documented several cases of physical and psychological abuse by employers, and in some cases by agents. Examples of abuse included beatings, deliberate

burnings with hot irons, threats, insults, and forms of humiliation such as shaving a

domestic worker’s head. Food deprivation was a common abuse. They interviewed

women who reported rape, attempted rape, and sexual harassment, typically by

male employers or their sons, and in some instances, by other foreign workers whom

they had approached for assistance. Embassies reported that few women approach Saudi authorities with these complaints due to the risk of being prosecuted

themselves for adultery, fornication, or other moral “misconduct.”

“Overwork” was one of the most common complaints received by embassies and

the Saudi Ministry of Social Affairs. Most domestic workers reported working 15-20

hours a day, typically with one hour of rest or no rest at all. None of the interviewees

had a day off or paid leave. Workload and hours typically increased during Ramadan.

Domestic workers reported having to work even when ill or injured and had little

access to health care. Furthermore, many domestic workers were employed in large

houses but reported inadequate living accommodations, including having to sleep in

areas such as storage closets, and in one case, a bathroom.

Saudi immigration policy requires that employers sign an “exit visa” for migrant

workers wishing to return home. Many employers refuse to sign these exit visas,

forcing domestic workers to continue working against their will for months or years.

In other cases, former employers’ refusal to sign prolonged migrants’ departure for

months if they had escaped and were waiting in a shelter. When employers force

workers to continue their employment against their will, subject them to exploitative

work conditions, abuse them physically or sexually, withhold their wages, and

confine them to the workplace, these women are in situations of forced labor and

often servitude.

Several factors contribute to migrant domestic workers’ isolation, financial stress,

and limited access to assistance. Domestic workers may see no way out of abusive

situations. Because work permits are tied to the individual employer, leaving or

losing one’s job typically means immediate repatriation. Many employers confiscate

their domestic workers’ passports and work permits, meaning women and girls

fleeing abusive situations can face arrest and immigration detention. Employers held

the passports of every domestic worker we interviewed, and in many cases refused

to produce them even after interventions by Saudi authorities or embassy officials.

Some employers also restrict domestic workers from making or receiving phone calls,

talking to neighbors, or leaving the place of employment independently. The majority

of domestic workers interviewed by Human Rights Watch reported that if their employers were not at home, they were locked in the workplace from the outside;

several reported being locked in bedrooms or bathrooms for days at a time.

Het verhaal van een voormalig domestic worker
Nour Miyati

This was my third time migrating. The first time I was in Medina for four years. The second time I was in Ta’if for two years. My previous employers were good and provided my full salary.

[The third time in Riyadh], the wife of the employer beat me, she did not work.

Everyday she beat me. She beat my head, so I would cover it with my hands. She hit my foot with her sharp high heels. Everyday she did this until my foot was injured. When I told the husband about his wife’s behavior, he also beat me. After she beat my hands and they became swollen, [they made me] wash my hands with … one whole cup of bleach. I felt very hurt and had a lot of pain. I never got enough food. After one year, they still had not paid my salary.

I never got a chance to rest, I woke up at 4 a.m., made breakfast for the children, I worked all day without rest. I went to sleep at 3 a.m. So many times I didn’t get a

chance to sleep at night, I worked around the clock.

My employer had my passport. He is a policeman [a member of the National Guard]. I never got a chance to leave the house. They locked me in from the outside. When I had stayed there for one year, I got a chance to escape, it was a Thursday and I ran out. My condition was bad, my left eye couldn’t see, I was swollen all over. I got a taxi that took me to a police officer…. My employer came to the station and took me back. I refused, I said, “My employer is a bad person.” My employer said, “You haven’t finished your contract yet, it should be two years.”

When I reached the house, they beat me again. They beat my mouth and one tooth fell out [shows scar on her lip]. After that, they locked all the doors, only the

bathroom door was unlocked. I was never allowed to go out, not even to throw out the garbage. They didn’t let me use the telephone. The situation got very bad. The husband and wife beat me every day, they never gave me medicine.

It got worse after I tried to run away…. In the last month I slept in the bathroom….

they put tape on my mouth so I couldn’t say anything because my employers didn’t want the neighbors to know about me.

I didn’t escape, I asked [my employer] to take me to the hospital because of my

condition. First I had to promise not to tell about their behavior to me. They forced

me to stay silent.

[A doctor identified the abuse and notified authorities. Nour Miyati then underwent

intensive medical treatment over several months, including amputation of her

fingers due to gangrene.

The criminal proceedings of her case have stretched over three years, while Nour

Miyati has waited in the overcrowded Indonesian embassy shelter for its resolution.

A Riyadh court initially convicted Nour Miyati of making false allegations, sentencing

her to 79 lashes, but later overturned this decision. The court dropped charges

against her male employer. It sentenced the female employer to 35 lashes for

committing abuse, but on May 19, 2008, a judge also dropped the charges against

the female employer. That judge still awarded Nour Miyati 2,500 riyals ($668) in

compensation, a small fraction of the amounts typically awarded for the types of

injuries sustained.68 The Indonesian embassy plans to appeal the latest judgment.]69

[crying] I just worry I cannot work because of my hands. I don’t know about my future.

Nour Miyati (real name used upon request), Indonesian domestic worker, Riyadh,

December 5, 2006, and March 11, 2008

According to the ILO Convention on Forced Labor, Number 29, forced or compulsory

Bron: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/saudiarabia0708_1.pdf