Unemployment remains big problem in E. Timor<\/p>\n
DILI (JP): Unemployment remains a headache for many East
\nTimorese as their education level is improving but the local job
\nmarket is unable to absorb the increasingly qualified workforce,
\na local official says.<\/p>\n
Chief of the East Timor provincial manpower office Ign.
\nMujihartono said last week that unemployment in the territory of
\n800,000 people is so serious a national effort would be needed to
\nsolve it.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Jakarta Post, Mujihartono said there
\nwas a common misperception that labor affairs was solely the
\nresponsibility of his office.<\/p>\n
"In fact, other agencies such those overseeing industry,
\nplantations, trade, agriculture and fisheries should also think
\nof ways to create jobs for the East Timorese," he said.<\/p>\n
The manpower office's main job, he said, is to provide
\nvocational training for job seekers and channel them to the
\navailable openings.<\/p>\n
Two thousand five hundred people are currently on the manpower
\noffice's list of job seekers, down from 18,000 in 1995. Last
\nyear, 3,000 of them entered the civil service and another 500
\nwere recruited by various manpower suppliers.<\/p>\n
The central government in Jakarta has also helped relieve the
\nunemployment predicament in East Timor. Over the past year 2,025
\nEast Timorese have been provided with jobs in other provinces.<\/p>\n
Observers believe that the bulk of East Timorese jobless
\npeople have yet to report to the manpower office for help.<\/p>\n
Mujihartono reckoned that about 4,000 people entered the job
\nmarket every year.<\/p>\n
He hailed the recent increase in the minimum daily wage in
\nEast Timor. Under the policy, East Timorese workers' monthly wage
\nwill average Rp 138,000 (US$59) from April, up from Rp 126,000.<\/p>\n
Mujihartono said that the meager raise was because of local
\nemployers' limited financial capabilities.<\/p>\n
"The pay hike is expected to encourage local workers to work
\nharder," he said.<\/p>\n
Unemployment is a delicate issue in the former Portuguese
\ncolony, which is among Indonesia's poorest provinces.<\/p>\n
Academics have theorized that joblessness is adding fuel to
\nthe sociopolitical tension in the area that has often erupted
\ninto unrest.<\/p>\n
Last year, a series of ethnic and religious riots were
\ntriggered by conflicts between Bugis and local traders. Many key
\npositions in the local administration go to migrants. (33)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/unemployment-remains-big-problem-in-e-timor-1447893297",
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