Bakorstanasda urged to stop worker kidnappings<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta chapter of the Agency for
\nCoordination of Support for National Stability (Bakorstanasda
\nJaya) is being urged to crack down on worker "kidnapping" at the
\nSoekarno-Hatta airport in Cengkareng.<\/p>\n
"The practice has been going on for several years but seems
\ndifficult to stop since it involves officials of the airport,
\nsecurity officers, officials of the Ministry of Manpower and the
\nIMSA (Indonesian Association of Manpower Supplier Companies),"
\nIdrus Syech Abubakar, chief of IMSA's arrival unit, was quoted by
\nAntara as saying yesterday.<\/p>\n
Idrus's statement followed recent reports that many workers
\narriving at the Soekarno-Hatta airport from working overseas were
\nforced by labor officials to pay unreasonably exorbitant
\ntransportation expenses to their home villages.<\/p>\n
They were charged between Rp 200,000 and Rp 300,000 (US$92 to
\n$138) each.<\/p>\n
Idrus said the extortion involved some kind of "kidnapping" .<\/p>\n
According to regulations, all workers arriving at the airport
\nshould disembark through a special exit door. They will then be
\nescorted to a boarding house owned by the ministry in Ciracas
\ndistrict, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Missing<\/p>\n
The officials at the boarding house will check their documents
\nbefore sending them to their respective manpower supplier
\ncompanies which originally sent them abroad. The companies will
\nsend them back home after the workers and the firms make a final
\nsettlement on their contracts.<\/p>\n
However, Idrus said, many workers "disappear" soon after
\narrival.<\/p>\n
According to Idrus, the investigation into the case early in
\nJuly, held on order from Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief,
\nrevealed that the "missing" workers had been "kidnapped" by a
\nsyndicate involving the security officers, the airport, the
\nministry of manpower, and IMSA's officials.<\/p>\n
The syndicate took the workers to travel agencies in
\nCengkareng district, forced them to spend the night there before
\ntransporting them to their home villages.<\/p>\n
"They demand unreasonably high transportation fees of Rp
\n300,000 to Bandung, and Rp 500,000 to East Java and Central
\nJava," Idrus said.<\/p>\n
"This has caused great losses to the firms which send the
\nworkers," he said.<\/p>\n
Minister Latief had demoted some of the ministerial officials
\nat the airport and the Ciracas internment, but Idrus said the
\nworkers have continued to "disappear" from the airport. (jsk)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bakorstanasda-urged-to-stop-worker-kidnappings-1447893297",
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