RI workers 'lose out in Saudi Arabia'<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Association of Indonesian Workers' Exporting Companies and
\nthe Indonesian Embassy in Saudi Arabia have been accused of
\ncolluding in their efforts to deal with Indonesian workers in
\ndispute with their employers.<\/p>\n
The association, the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh and its
\nconsul general's office in Jeddah signed an agreement on Dec. 30
\nstating that Indonesian workers involved in labor disputes in
\nSaudi Arabia will be provided with lawyers to assist them.<\/p>\n
But should the settlement of their cases take longer than 25
\ndays, the workers will be sent home to have their problems
\nresolved in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The agreement also stipulates that the association is not
\nresponsible for cases where Saudi employers refuse to pay the
\nsalaries of their workers.<\/p>\n
The move came despite an earlier agreement signed last October
\nby the association and the Indonesian Embassy in Saudi Arabia,
\nwhich requires Indonesian workers to each pay a US$11 protection
\nlevy from their monthly wages.<\/p>\n
Those working in the informal sector, particularly housemaids,
\nwere a priority, according to Antara.<\/p>\n
Yunus Yamani, an advocate for Indonesian workers overseas, on
\nSaturday blasted the agreement, saying the repatriation of
\nworkers would discourage Saudi employers from resolving disputes.<\/p>\n
This means rouge Saudi employers would arbitrarily expel the
\nworkers they dislike and send them back to the Indonesian embassy
\nor the association for repatriation, he was quoted by Antara as
\nsaying.<\/p>\n
For the last 15 years the Saudi government has provided
\nIndonesian workers involved in disputes with their bosses, flight
\ntickets home.<\/p>\n
Yunus said the collection of US$11 each month would only
\nencourage corrupt practices among association and embassy
\nofficials.<\/p>\n
Indonesian workers in trouble are usually taken to
\naccommodation centers in Tahrir, Jeddah, and Tasawul in Riyadh,
\npending the settlement of their cases by the local government.
\nBut if their cases are not resolved within 25 days, the Saudi
\nauthorities will fly them home.<\/p>\n
Yunus lashed out at the agreement dissolving the association's
\nresponsibility for Indonesian workers' unpaid salaries which
\ncomprised 90 percent of all the labor cases.<\/p>\n
\"(The association) should not clean its hands in dealing with
\nsuch cases.\" he said.<\/p>\n
Association Chairman Husein Alaydrus defended December's
\nagreement, saying it shows the \"concrete commitment\" of his
\norganization to protect Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
The agreement would be followed with measures, including a
\npossible legal aid institute in Indonesian, to help provide
\ncomprehensive protections, including the provision of lawyers and
\ncompensation for workers, he said.<\/p>\n
\"As part of the cooperation, we are now negotiating the amount
\nof compensation that must be prepared by a recruitment agency for
\nits workers,\" Husein said.<\/p>\n
He said if the negotiations were successful, the labor
\nrecruitment agencies would no longer need to worry about its
\nworkers as their problems would have been resolved by the unnamed
\ninstitute.<\/p>\n
Indonesia sends between around 13,000 and 15,000 workers to
\nSaudi Arabia each month. Currently, at least 286 workers are
\ninvolved in various labor cases. They are being housed at the
\nIndonesia's representative offices in Riyadh and Jeddah.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-workers-lose-out-in-saudi-arabia-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}