House backs labor export suspension<\/p>\n
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government's decision to temporarily stop sending workers
\noverseas won the full support of the House of Representatives,
\nwhich said the moratorium was essential so as to improve the
\nquality of jobseekers despite the increasing demand for
\nIndonesian workers abroad.<\/p>\n
But it has elicited skepticism from labor exporters as well as
\ngovernment officials because of the absence of concrete steps to
\nimprove the quality of the workers being sent overseas.<\/p>\n
House Deputy Speaker Muhaimin Iskandar and members of the
\nHouse labor and social affairs commission gave their support to
\nthe government's decision to suspend labor exports for the time
\nbeing due to the widespread abuse of Indonesian workers overseas
\nand the rampant extortion of them at home.<\/p>\n
According to Muhaimin and the House commission, the temporary
\nsuspension would give time for all sides, especially the Ministry
\nof Manpower and Transmigration and labor suppliers, to train
\nworkers before they were sent abroad.<\/p>\n
The government has decided to suspend labor exports until
\nMarch due to the Iraq crisis and the poor situation of Indonesian
\nworkers in the Asia-Pacific region, including Hong Kong, Taiwan
\nand Malaysia.<\/p>\n
However, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa
\nWea conceded he was pessimistic that Indonesia would be able to
\nimprove the quality of workers in only one month. Besides, the
\ntemporary suspension would worsen the unemployment problem at
\nhome.<\/p>\n
He said his ministry was responsible for training workers and
\njob-seekers, but almost all of the 160 training centers spread
\nacross the country were now managed by regencies and
\nmunicipalities as required under the 1999 regional autonomy law.<\/p>\n
"The 154 training centers that were handed over to the local
\ngovernments have yet to function optimally. Most of them are
\nclosed because of financial problems and most of their
\ninstructors have retired or been transferred to other sections in
\nthe local administrations," he explained, saying he no longer had
\nthe authority to manage human resources in the training centers.<\/p>\n
He said it was impossible right now to order labor exporters
\nto train workers because almost 80 percent of labor exporters
\nlacked training centers and were unprofessional.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that the demand for Indonesian workers,
\nespecially healthcare workers and machine operators, had been
\nincreasing, but Indonesia could not meet the market demand due to
\nthe low quality of Indonesian workers.<\/p>\n
"To me, the curricula at all educational levels and the
\nnational education system itself must be reviewed and changed to
\nmeet the labor market's demands. We need nursing academies to
\nproduce professional nurses with communication skills in a
\nforeign language. We also need machine operators with a good
\ncommand of a foreign language," he said.<\/p>\n
Joko Sungkono, operations director for state-owned insurance
\ncompany PT Jamsostek, expressed his deep concern over the
\ncontinuing high number of lay-offs, saying the government's
\ndecision to impose a moratorium on labor exports would worsen the
\nunemployment problem at home.<\/p>\n
He said that more than 550,000 workers were dismissed in 2002,
\nmany of whom remained jobless, while others had entered the
\ninformal sector.<\/p>\n
He explained that PT Jamsostek was paying benefits to an
\nadditional 2,000 dismissed workers every day. Under a 1997
\nministerial decree, laid-off workers have a right to some Rp
\n2,000,000 in financial assistance to allow them to seek other
\njobs.<\/p>\n
Yunus Yamani, a labor observer, called on the government to
\nstop labor exports for at least one year to make the necessary
\npreparations for the provision of proper training and to make
\nlabor exporters more professional.<\/p>\n
"What is needed is for skilled workers and professionals to be
\nsent overseas in order to improve Indonesia's bargaining power
\nand foreign exchange earnings from the sector," he said, citing
\nthat the number of Indonesian workers employed overseas had
\nreached four million but the government's earnings from the
\nsector only amounted to US$1 billion per year.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/house-backs-labor-export-suspension-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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