22 Years of Waiting: Indonesia's Historic Victory for Domestic Workers and Lessons for Social Democracy in the Asia Pacific

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By Sondang Tampubolon, Coordinator, SocDem Asia Pacific | June 2026

On April 21, 2026 — Kartini Day, celebrated as a symbol of women's awakening in Indonesia — the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia struck the gavel to pass the Law on the Protection of Domestic Workers (UU PPRT). A moment that had been awaited for 22 years.

This was no coincidence. It was a powerful symbolic statement: that the struggle for women in Indonesia is not over, and that the state has finally chosen to take a side.

Who Are Indonesia's Domestic Workers?

Indonesia has approximately 4 to 5 million domestic workers (PRT), making them one of the largest groups of workers in the country. More than 90 percent of them are women. They cook, clean homes, care for children and the elderly, and sustain the daily lives of millions of Indonesian families — including middle-class families that keep the formal economy running.

Yet for decades, they worked without contracts, without legally guaranteed minimum wages, without social security, without the right to leave, and without protection from violence or exploitation. They are the invisible backbone of Indonesia's economy and social life.

Ironically, precisely because their work takes place behind closed doors, the state for so long chose not to see them.

22 Years: A Struggle That Never Stopped

The draft law on domestic worker protection was first proposed in 2004. For more than two decades, it languished in the corridors of legislative bureaucracy — delayed, ignored, and repeatedly dropped from the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) priority list.

What kept this struggle alive was not political will alone, but a grassroots movement that never burned out. The National Advocacy Network for Domestic Workers (JALA PRT), together with dozens of civil society organizations, labor unions, and women's groups, continued to pressure, advocate, and document cases of violence and exploitation experienced by domestic workers across Indonesia.

They were not alone in parliament. Partai NasDem emerged as the most consistent and vocal political force in pushing for the law's passage. NasDem's parliamentary faction formally became one of the primary sponsors of the PPRT Bill in the House's Legislative Body (Baleg). Two NasDem figures stood at the forefront of this legislative battle: Martin Manurung, Vice Chairman of Baleg DPR RI from NasDem's faction, who was a key figure in accelerating the bill's deliberation and passage; and Lestari Moerdijat, NasDem politician and Vice Chairman of the MPR RI, who was among the most consistent voices urging the DPR leadership to fast-track the bill's discussion and bring it to a vote. Together, they embodied NasDem's commitment that further delay was a betrayal of the constitution.

PDI Perjuangan and PKB also provided significant support in parliament, while pressure from Komnas Perempuan and the civil society coalition continued to build political momentum until the gavel finally fell on April 21, 2026.

What Do Domestic Workers Now Have?

With the enactment of UU PPRT, for the first time in Indonesian history, domestic workers receive official recognition as workers under the law. This is not merely an administrative change — it is a paradigm shift.

Here are the concrete protections now guaranteed by law:

1. Written Employment ContractsEvery working relationship between a domestic worker and an employer must be set out in a written agreement covering: the type of work, working hours, wages, leave entitlements, holiday allowance (THR), social security, and dispute resolution mechanisms.

2. Fair WagesDomestic workers are entitled to fair wages in accordance with agreed terms and established standards, ending the practice of arbitrary payment that previously depended entirely on the employer's goodwill.

3. Humane Working HoursThe law regulates working hour limits for domestic workers, ending the practice of boundless working time that had long been the norm in many households.

4. Right to Leave and RestDomestic workers are now entitled to days off, annual leave, and adequate rest time — rights previously enjoyed only by formal sector workers.

5. Holiday Allowance (THR)Domestic workers are entitled to receive THR, ensuring they too can share in the festive moments they have long helped prepare for their employers' families.

6. Social SecurityEmployers are now required to register domestic workers in the BPJS Health and BPJS Employment programs, providing access to healthcare and workplace accident protection.

7. Protection from Violence and ExploitationThe law explicitly prohibits all forms of physical, psychological, sexual, and economic violence against domestic workers, and provides clear complaint and dispute resolution mechanisms.

8. Access to Vocational TrainingDomestic workers are entitled to access training programs to improve their competence and quality of work.

Impact on Indonesian Women

UU PPRT is, at its core, the most concrete feminist policy produced by the Indonesian parliament in recent decades.

Because more than 90 percent of domestic workers are women, every article in this law speaks directly to their lives. For so long, women domestic workers occupied the most vulnerable position: working in private spaces beyond the reach of state oversight, often far from their families, and entirely dependent on the goodwill of their employers.

UU PPRT fundamentally shifts this power dynamic. Women domestic workers now have a bargaining position protected by law. They are no longer parties who must appeal for kindness — they are workers with rights that can be claimed before the law.

Furthermore, this law opens a broader conversation about the value of care work in society. For so long, cooking, cleaning, and caregiving were treated as "women's work" with no economic value. By recognizing domestic workers as workers entitled to wages and legal protection, the state implicitly acknowledges that care work is real work — work that sustains the economy.

Impact on the Younger Generation

The impact of UU PPRT on Indonesia's younger generation is layered — both for those who grew up in domestic worker families, and for those who will enter the workforce in the future.

Millions of Indonesian children grew up with parents who worked as domestic workers. For so long, they watched their parents work hard without certainty, without protection, and often without recognition. UU PPRT changes that narrative. When the state recognizes their parents' work as dignified and legally protected, the psychological and social impact is intergenerational — breaking the chain of stigma and poverty that has long been inherited.

For young people entering the workforce as domestic workers, this law provides legal certainty from their very first day of work. They no longer need to accept exploitation as normal. They have rights, and those rights are written into law.

Beyond that, the passage of UU PPRT after 22 years of struggle sends a powerful message to all of Indonesia's younger generation: that persistent, organized advocacy can change policy — even after two decades of struggle. This is democracy's most tangible lesson.

Lessons for Social Democracy in the Asia Pacific

Indonesia is not the only country in the Asia Pacific grappling with the question of domestic worker protection. In many countries across the region, domestic workers — the majority of whom are migrant women and women from vulnerable groups — still work in similar conditions: without contracts, without protection, without a voice.

Indonesia's experience offers several important lessons for the social democratic movement in the region:

First, policy change requires a broad coalition — between civil society movements, labor unions, and progressive political parties willing to be sponsors, not merely supporters.

Second, the domestic worker issue is not a peripheral issue. It is simultaneously a class issue, a gender issue, and a social justice issue — and social democratic parties must place it at the center of their policy agenda.

Third, political symbolism matters. The passage of UU PPRT on Kartini Day was not a coincidence — it was a statement that the struggle for women's dignity and the struggle for workers' rights are one and the same.

Indonesia's victory on April 21, 2026 is a victory for the entire workers' movement across the Asia Pacific. But as NasDem's faction itself reminded us after the passage: "The enactment of UU PPRT is not the end of the struggle." Implementation, oversight, and law enforcement are the next chapter — and they require the same strength of political commitment.

Sondang Tampubolon is the Coordinator of SocDem Asia Pacific. This article is written as part of SocDem Asia Pacific's series on labor policy and gender justice in the Asia Pacific region.