House blasts labor export management<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives blamed yesterday
\nthe high number of Indonesian illegal workers in Saudi Arabia on
\nthe government's poor management of labor export.<\/p>\n
Legislator Samsoedin, who led a team to Saudi Arabia last
\nmonth, told a House plenary session that poor teamwork among
\nrelated government offices had caused excessive problems ranging
\nfrom recruitment to the placement of workers in the kingdom.<\/p>\n
\"We found that the lack of coordination among the Ministry of
\nManpower, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense,
\nMinistry of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Justice and the office
\nof the State Minister of Women's Roles led to visa abuses,
\nillegal brokerage and counterfeit of immigration documents at the
\nexpense of the workers,\" Samsoedin said.<\/p>\n
Samsoedin said during the five-day trip to Saudi Arabia, the
\nteam also discovered that Indonesian workers usually lost
\ncontacts with their exporting companies and the Indonesian
\nEmbassy there.<\/p>\n
\"There is no accurate data on how many and where the workers
\nare. Consequently, it's difficult for the Indonesian Embassy to
\nprovide legal aid to legal workers, not to mention illegal ones,\"
\nSamsoedin said.<\/p>\n
An estimated 600,000 Indonesians are legally working in Saudi
\nArabia. Eighty-five percent of them are women, mostly working as
\nhousemaids. Most of the Indonesian workers abroad are in
\nMalaysia, totaling some 1.5 million.<\/p>\n
The House team of eight stayed in the Arabian oil-rich country
\nfrom Nov. 11 to Nov. 16 in the aftermath of the Saudian
\ngovernment's crackdown on illegal workers that forced the
\nIndonesian government to repatriate 24,000 people.<\/p>\n
Criticism over the government's failure to protect Indonesian
\nworkers in Saudi Arabia escalated when an illegal female worker
\nNasiroh faced execution shortly after her compatriot Soleha Anam
\nKadiran was beheaded after being found guilty of murder.<\/p>\n
Nasiroh escaped the death penalty only after the government
\nintervened.<\/p>\n
The House suggested yesterday that the government tighten its
\ncontrol over worker exporting companies, enhance the skills of
\nworkers to be sent abroad and appeal to Saudia Arabia to sign a
\nmemorandum of understanding on the export of workers.<\/p>\n
Another House recommendation was to curb the export of
\nunskilled workers. \"The sending of housemaids must be gradually
\nphased out and stopped,\" Samsoedin said. (amd)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/house-blasts-labor-export-management-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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