Labor export suspension extended<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has extended the suspension of labor exports
\nindefinitely due to the mounting Iraq crisis despite strong
\nprotests from migrant workers and labor export firms.<\/p>\n
The director general of labor placement at the Ministry of
\nManpower and Transmigration, I Gede Made Arka, declined to give
\nreasons for the decision, but many labor exporters said it had a
\nlot to do with recent developments in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
\"Whatever they (the maids) say, we will maintain the
\nsuspension of labor exports for the time being. We want all
\nworkers to be prepared to work overseas and to improve their
\nskills before leaving for overseas, especially as regards
\ncommunications,\" he explained here on Monday.<\/p>\n
He said that in many cases, workers had been mistreated or had
\nbeen denied their rights because of language barriers.<\/p>\n
\"Many of those employed in the Middle East cannot speak Arabic
\nso that they face language barriers in seeking their rights from
\ntheir Arabic-speaking employers,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
He said Indonesia needed to improve the quality of its workers
\nbefore their departure abroad to prevent them from being abused
\nby their employers.<\/p>\n
The government decided early in February to suspend the supply
\nof Indonesian workers to the Middle East because of the mounting
\ntension between Iraq and the United States over the former's
\nalleged possession of weapons of mass destruction and links with
\nOsama bin Laden. However, the reason given was the need to
\nprovide an opportunity for workers to improve their skills and to
\nincrease Indonesia's bargaining power in the international labor
\nmarket.<\/p>\n
The suspension has been extended as the situation still
\nremains tense, with the U.S. administration warning that it would
\ngo to war with or without UN support.<\/p>\n
The government has been reluctant to give the mounting tension
\nas its reason for suspending labor exports so as to avoid giving
\nthe impression that the Middle Eastern countries were unable to
\nprotect Indonesian workers employed in the region. In addition,
\nthe temporary suspension of labor exports has been imposed on all
\ncountries to avoid protests from companies supplying workers to
\nthe Middle East.<\/p>\n
Currently, some 150,000 Indonesians, mostly women, are
\nemployed as domestic helpers for families in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
An association of Indonesian maids in Hong Kong criticized the
\ngovernment on Sunday for extending the labor export suspension.
\nIt said the policy would make Indonesian migrant workers less
\ncompetitive.<\/p>\n
A. Munir, chairman of the Workers Legal Aid Institution
\n(LPBHI), said some 100,000 workers had left a number of labor
\nexporters' dormitories because of the uncertainty hanging over
\ntheir departures.<\/p>\n
\"Such cases will cost not only labor exporters but also the
\nworkers themselves,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to Gede, the number of migrant Indonesian workers
\ncould reach up to 2 million, of which around 1 million were in
\nthe Middle East, about 500,000 in Malaysia and the remaining
\n500,000 in other countries, including the United States and the
\ncountries of Western Europe.<\/p>\n
Gede went on to say that the government had set March 21 as
\nthe deadline for the Indonesian migrant labor agencies (PJTKIs)
\nto report on their programs to improve workers' skills.<\/p>\n
Afterwards, the government would send out independent teams
\ndrawn from academia to test whether the workers to be sent
\noverseas met the set qualifications.<\/p>\n
\"Given an independent test, we hope there will be no more
\ncollusion between the government and the agencies in sending
\nunskilled workers abroad,\" he said.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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