Planned training center for maids draws protests<\/p>\n
Tb. Arie Rukmantara, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Activists and labor exporters dismissed on Tuesday a plan by a
\nSingaporean company to establish a training center for maids in
\nIndonesia, saying it would largely serve the interests of
\nemployers rather than Indonesian overseas workers.<\/p>\n
Such a center would only commercialize its training programs
\nand would therefore impose more financial burden on Indonesian
\nmaids wanting to work overseas, said Wijaksana, an activist of
\nJurnal Perempuan -- a non-governmental organization that
\nadvocates the rights of women domestic workers.<\/p>\n
\"The training center would merely focus on improving skills
\nbut avoid talking about the risks of working abroad,\" he told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Nor would the planned center provide adequate information on
\nworkers' protection and safety, he added.<\/p>\n
A Singaporean company, Homemaker, had announced its plan to
\nset up schools in Indonesia and the Philippines to prepare
\n\"custom-trained maids\" before they took jobs in the city state.<\/p>\n
\"We want maids with the right attitude and aptitude,\" Alvin
\nKor, director of the firm, told The Straits Times as reported by
\nDPA.<\/p>\n
The company said it would open a center in Jakarta next month
\nand in the Philippines in January 2006.<\/p>\n
The maids will spend two months at the center learning about
\nhousekeeping and looking after infants and the elderly. They will
\nalso learn safety tips and how to handle chemicals.<\/p>\n
According to the company, Indonesia and the Philippines are
\nthe primary sources of the 160,000 domestic helpers in Singapore.
\nOthers come from Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.<\/p>\n
The plan came amid reports of local training centers that are
\nineffective in improving the skills of its maids. This has partly
\nbeen blamed for the problems they encounter overseas.<\/p>\n
Saleh Al Waini, who chairs the advisory board of the
\nAssociation of Indonesian Labor Recruitment Companies, accused
\nthe Singaporean company of trying to take over the job of
\ntraining from domestic firms.<\/p>\n
\"We have a large number of such centers here. Why do they
\n(Homemaker) need to teach skills that we already train people
\nin?\" he told the Post.<\/p>\n
Saleh suggested that Singaporean labor recruitment companies
\nfocus more on efforts to ensure clear salary mechanisms and scrap
\nrecruitment fees imposed on Indonesian domestic workers.<\/p>\n
\"They should abolish discriminative treatment in terms of
\nsalaries, as Indonesian workers are paid less than their
\nPhilippine counterparts. They have also to start forcing
\nSingaporean employers to pay the recruitment fees as practiced in
\nMalaysia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Wijaksana said he was worried that the training center would
\ncharge prospective maids to pay for its overhead costs.<\/p>\n
\"This kind of center should be free of charge. It should not
\ncharge any operational costs to migrant domestic workers because
\nthey already spend millions of rupiah to arrange their work
\ndocuments,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesian domestic migrant workers pay millions of rupiah for
\npassports, work permits, training fees and various illegal fees
\nto be able to work abroad.<\/p>\n
Despite the high costs imposed on them, many often return home
\nwithout any earnings. Some have even lost their lives or ended up
\nin prison.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/planned-training-center-for-maids-draws-protests-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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