Labor training funds llikely abused, observers say<\/p>\n
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Calls for the government to begin training programs for millions
\nof unskilled workers using billions of dollars in dedicated funds
\nmay be impossible to answer due to irregularities in the use of
\nthe funds over the years.<\/p>\n
Labor exporters have been calling for training programs,
\nsaying that the government, through the Ministry of Manpower and
\nTransmigration, has collected billions of dollars in non-income
\ntaxes from Indonesian workers overseas and expatriates here in a
\nbid to raise funds to finance training programs for unskilled
\nworkers.<\/p>\n
Labor exporters are concerned over reports that Indonesian
\nworkers might not be able compete with foreign workers when the
\nregional liberalization drive in the labor sector begins next
\nyear, due to a lack of skills and poor preparation by the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
When asked why the government was not using these funds to set
\nup training programs, a senior official at the Ministry of
\nManpower and Transmigration said the ministry could not provide
\nan accountability report for the use of the funds for many years.<\/p>\n
\"The ministry, which has been in charge of collecting the
\ntraining funds, has no accurate data on the precise amount of
\nfunds, the utilization of the funds and the number of workers
\ntrained with the funds. There are irregularities and this must be
\nfixed immediately,\" the secretary-general of the Manpower and
\nTransmigration Ministry, Tjeppy Al'oewi, told The Jakarta Post at
\nhis office on Friday.<\/p>\n
The ministry collected US$20 from each Indonesian worker sent
\nto Saudi Arabia from the 1980s to 2000, and $15 from all
\nIndonesian workers sent overseas for the last five years.
\nExpatriates working in Indonesia have been required to pay $100 a
\nmonth to help finance labor training programs.<\/p>\n
Indonesia sent about 15,000 workers to Saudi Arabia from the
\n1980s to 2000, and about 40,000 workers monthly to foreign
\ncountries over the last five years. The number of expatriates
\nworking in Indonesia has varied between 13,000 and 35,000 over
\nthe last 35 years. There are more than 28,000 foreign workers
\nregistered with the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry,
\nindustrial zones and the Investment Coordinating Board.<\/p>\n
An official at the same ministry said not all of the funds
\nwere channeled to the labor training division at the ministry as
\noriginally planned, with a huge part of the money going to other
\ndivisions in the ministry and to other ministries to finance
\ndevelopment projects.<\/p>\n
The director general for labor placement and training affairs
\nat the ministry, Kirnadi, explained that while the ministry
\ncollected the funds, the money had to be transferred to the
\nMinistry of Finance before being redistributed.<\/p>\n
\"Some 38 percent of the collected funds are kept by the
\nMinistry of Finance,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Kirnadi said some of the money had also been distributed to
\nlabor unions in the hope that they would set up training program
\nfor workers.<\/p>\n
However, labor unions and labor exporters denied receiving
\nmoney.<\/p>\n
The Confederation of Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union and the
\nConfederation of All-Indonesian Workers Union (KSPSI) said
\nseparately they had never received any of the funds.<\/p>\n
\"The BPK should audit the use of the funds,\" KSPSI chairman
\nJacob Now Weal said, referring to the Supreme Audit Agency.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the Association of Indonesian Labor Supplying
\nCompanies, Hasein Alaydrus, also said his group had not received
\ntraining funds from the government.<\/p>\n
Training and retraining programs are seen as urgent because it
\nis feared that Indonesian workers, many uneducated and lacking
\nskills, will be unable to compete with foreign workers
\nwhen the ASEAN Free Trade Area is fully implemented beginning
\nnext year.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/labor-training-funds-llikely-abused-observers-say-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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