Jamsostek, NTB to protect workers<\/p>\n
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara<\/p>\n
Increasing cases of violence against Indonesian workers abroad
\nhas prompted the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) provincial
\nadministration to establish a cooperation with state-owned social
\nsecurity company PT Jamsostek to provide an insurance scheme to
\nprotect migrant workers.<\/p>\n
The provincial administration is to work on a labor protection
\nbylaw, while Jamsostek is to provide facilities to check the
\nhealth of workers prior to their departure and provide insurance
\nunder a social security program during their employment overseas.<\/p>\n
Deputy governor A.B. Thamrin Rayes said the provincial
\nadministration would consult the central government to avoid any
\nconflicts between the bylaw and the bill on labor placement and
\nprotection currently being drafted by the Ministry of Manpower
\nand Transmigration.<\/p>\n
\"It will be too late if we wait for the enforcement of the
\nlegislation. We'd better take concrete measures to revamp the
\nlabor export procedures to stop the violence,\" Thamrin said
\nduring Wednesday's opening of a Jamsostek office here.<\/p>\n
He said the labor protection bylaw was needed to allow
\nrelevant authorities to cope with problems found in the labor
\nexport procedure, from the recruitment of workers to their
\nplacement overseas and their repatriation.<\/p>\n
The bylaw, he said, would enable the provincial government to
\nsupervise workers' recruitment and training and to conduct
\nmedical check-ups prior to their departure.<\/p>\n
\"This means the workers must be trained here, instead of in
\nother places like Jakarta, and user countries can no longer
\ndirectly recruit workers from here. Jamsostek will provide health
\nand legal protection for the workers, from their recruitment to
\nthe end of their contract,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Data from a local non-governmental organization (NGO), the
\nPancakarsa Foundation, showed that 430 migrant workers from the
\nprovince had been killed, abused or raped this year, up from 187
\ncases in 2002. There have been 1,900 cases of violence against
\nIndonesian migrant workers between 1996 and 2001.<\/p>\n
The most recent violence involved a domestic helper from
\nTaliwang district, who was sent home by her Saudi Arabian
\nemployer after she was abducted, beaten and raped on her way to
\nJeddah International Airport.<\/p>\n
West Nusa Tenggara exports between 500 and 900 workers per
\nmonth. The workers receive a monthly salary of between Rp 500,000
\n(US$59.5) and Rp 1.5 million, depending on their skills and
\nhealth.<\/p>\n
More than 300,000 people from remote areas in the province are
\nnow working as domestic helpers and low-ranking employees in the
\nelectronic, plantation and construction sectors in the Middle
\nEast, Malaysia and Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
Jamsostek president Ahmad Junaidi said he welcomed the
\nprovince's proposal.<\/p>\n
\"We will discuss it further in the spirit of regional autonomy
\nin order to try and revive the ministerial decree on labor
\nprotection, which was lifted in 1999,\" Junaidi said.<\/p>\n
Junaidi said Jamsostek and the West Nusa Tenggara provincial
\nadministration would refer migrant workers to a satellite
\nhospital located on the outskirts of Mataram.<\/p>\n
\"We will also offer a special insurance scheme with a premium
\nrate higher than that collected from workers employed at home,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Pancakarsa Foundation chairwoman Endang Sulistyaningsih
\nresponded cautiously to the agreement, saying it would not
\nguarantee that migrant workers would be safe from abuse and
\nextortion.<\/p>\n
She urged the provincial administration to involve all sides,
\nincluding key players in the labor export industry, NGOs and
\nrelevant authorities, in drawing up the labor protection bylaw.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jamsostek-ntb-to-protect-workers-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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