RI Embassy shelters 30 troubled workers<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A woman migrant worker who had her leg amputated recently is
\nstill staying with 29 other colleagues, including a child worker,
\nat the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore awaiting compensation for
\nher suffering from her Singaporean employer.<\/p>\n
Ranis Andriani from Cilacap in Central Java, has stayed at the
\nembassy for several weeks to seek fair compensation for the
\nincident that caused the loss of her leg.<\/p>\n
Ranis fell when she was cleaning the windows of her employer's
\nhigh-rise apartment, causing serious injuries. Unfortunately the
\ndamage to her leg was so severe it had to be amputated above the
\nknee.<\/p>\n
The second secretary of the Indonesian Embassy, Fachry
\nSulaiman, confirmed on Friday that 23-year-old Ranis had not yet
\nreceived any compensation from her former employer or the
\nIndonesian labor recruitment company that sent her to the island
\nstate five months ago.<\/p>\n
\"The embassy has hired a Singaporean lawyer for Ranis since
\nher employer apparently has no commitment to settle the case
\nproperly,\" he said, explaining that the embassy had spent S$3,500
\nto cover her medical fees and to pay the lawyer.<\/p>\n
Fachry said the lawyer in cooperation with the embassy had
\nfiled Ranis' case with the Singapore Police.<\/p>\n
He added he was astounded that Ranis' former employer did not
\nhave the goodwill to settle the case amicably, on the contrary he
\nreported to the police that she had attempted suicide. The police
\nmet her to ask her to sign a statement that she had tried to take
\nher own life.<\/p>\n
Ranis refused to make such a statement and called the embassy
\nfor assistance.<\/p>\n
According to her work contract, Ranis has the right to receive
\nS$5,000 from her former employer and Rp 15 million (US$1,800)
\nfrom the Indonesian recruitment agency.<\/p>\n
Ranis is only one of many Indonesian workers who have had
\naccidents in their workplace because they were not trained to
\nwork in multistory apartments. Several domestic helpers died last
\nyear under similar circumstances.<\/p>\n
Fachry said further that the embassy had also given refuge to
\na nine-year-old child worker who was brought in by his uncle from
\nMedan to seek work in Singapore.<\/p>\n
\"The school-aged child has rejected repatriation, saying he
\nwill only go home with his uncle,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Most workers have been stranded at the embassy because of
\nfinancial and administrative problems preventing them from
\nreturning to Indonesia. Most had escaped their workplace and
\ncould not return home because they were not paid, while their
\npassport was being kept by their employers.<\/p>\n
Asked about key reasons behind the workers' troubles, Fachry
\nsaid many workers ran into difficulties because they were
\nunskilled and often became depressed due to the lack of
\ncommunication with their employers and their families at home.<\/p>\n
\"To solve the main problems encountered by domestic helpers,
\nIndonesia has decided to provide training for workers at a
\ntraining center in Batam, Riau, before they are employed in
\nSingapore. We are also still lobbying the Singapore government to
\ngive one day off per week to Indonesian domestic helpers working
\nthere,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of Indonesians are employed in Singapore as domestic
\nhelpers with an average monthly salary of S$230 (Rp 1,150,000).<\/p>\n
Secretary of the director general for overseas labor placement
\nat the manpower ministry Suwarno said the government was
\naccelerating the development of a training center so that the
\ngovernment could start providing services under one roof for
\nworkers who wanted to work in Singapore as of March 1.<\/p>\n
\"The training center is near completion. Workers will be
\ntrained and get the necessary documents at the training center
\nbefore they are employed in Singapore. It is important to make
\nsure workers have the appropriate skills before being employed
\nand to prevent them from illegally entering the neighboring
\ncountry,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-embassy-shelters-30-troubled-workers-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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