Migrant workers abuse on the rise<\/p>\n
Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam<\/p>\n
Lured by promises of a high salary and better working conditions,
\nOneng left her hometown in the West Java town of Cianjur to work
\nas a maid in Malaysia with high hopes.<\/p>\n
But these hopes were soon dashed. After working in Johor Bahru
\nfor just a month, the 35-year-old ended up in the Batam City's
\nwelfare office on Tuesday, lying helplessly in a worn-out bed,
\ninjured and poor.<\/p>\n
She was sent back home by the Consulate General's office in
\nJohor Bahru along with five other Indonesian migrant workers
\nafter her employer callously abandoned her on the road. Oneng
\nsuffered pelvic injuries after she fell to the ground from the
\nsecond-floor apartment where she worked.<\/p>\n
\"After learning that I fell and could not walk normally, my
\nemployer left me at an intersection in Johor Bahru. I could only
\ncry there until a person took me to the Consulate General's
\noffice in Johor,\" she told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Oneng was originally sent to Johor Bahru from Batam through a
\nmanpower agent to work as a maid with a set salary of RM 450 per
\nmonth. But she never got paid.<\/p>\n
\"I had just arrived and started work in Malaysia but then I
\nsuffered this misfortune. I have no money to bring back home
\nwhile my stomach is in great pain ... I just want to go home,\"
\nOneng said in tears.<\/p>\n
Doctors say the woman has injuries to her rib that will take
\nweeks to heal.<\/p>\n
Of the five other workers sent back to Batam by the Consulate
\nGeneral with Oneng, all complained being unpaid and abused by
\ntheir employees.<\/p>\n
Hasana, a 27-year-old native of East Java town of Jember,
\nclaimed she left Malaysia after being prohibited from praying.
\n\"My prayer clothes were thrown away by my employer who did not
\nallow me to pray. I couldn't take it, so I went to a police
\nstation. The police then took me to the Consulate General,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Batam City Social Services Office social insurance and
\nassistance division head Zulfikar Idham said an increasing number
\nof Indonesian migrant workers in difficulty were using the help
\nof the service to return to Batam.<\/p>\n
Last year, the office received 175 Indonesian migrant workers,
\nwhile until September this year it had already accommodated 222
\nworkers, mostly women, Zulfikar said.<\/p>\n
\"The number of troubled workers who are being sent back by the
\nConsulate General keeps on increasing in number, while the city
\nadministration only sets aside a limited budget to deal with the
\nproblem. We need the central government's attention to help deal
\nwith this matter,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The city's budget was only enough assist about 100 workers a
\nyear, with each person receiving a maximum of Rp 400,000 in aid.<\/p>\n
\"We accommodate them for three to four days, then we send them
\nback to their home cities. If there are those who are mentally
\nill, we'll send them to a mental hospital in Pekanbaru. So far
\nwe've sent two mentally ill workers there. But the budget is very
\nlimited, forcing our superior to allocate more funds from other
\nareas to help deal with the workers' problems,\" Zulfikar said.<\/p>\n
Even if the office can help send the maids home, it can do
\nlittle to pursue legal recourse in Malaysia to get justice for
\npeople like Oneng. Malaysian law gives little protection to
\noverseas migrant workers.<\/p>\n
Some 100,000 Indonesian maids reportedly work in Malaysia,
\nreceiving a salary of around US$100 a month and many are forced
\nto work long hours with little protection from labor laws.<\/p>\n
International rights watchdog Human Rights Watch warned
\nearlier this year that foreign maids in Malaysia were prey to
\nphysical, psychological and sexual abuse because of flawed
\ngovernment policies. The New York-based group called on the
\nMalaysian government to give the country's 240,000 domestic
\nworkers -- more than 90 percent of them from Indonesia -- the
\nsame legal protections as other employees.<\/p>\n
It said Indonesian maids typically work grueling 16 to 18 hour
\ndays, without even a day off.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/migrant-workers-abuse-on-the-rise-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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