Volunteers accused of politicizing labor export issue to discredit govt<\/p>\n
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has blamed unauthorized volunteers and the mass
\nmedia for exposing the much-criticized labor export, which has
\nbrought negative impacts upon many Indonesian workers employed
\noverseas.<\/p>\n
Spokesman for the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration
\nHotma Pandjaitan said on Friday that the ministry had detected a
\nconcerted move by certain volunteers and groups to politicize the
\nlabor export issue in order to discredit the government.<\/p>\n
\"The move is indicated by the systematic exposure by several
\nmass media of numerous incidents that befell many migrant
\nworkers, and this could affect bilateral ties between Indonesia
\nand the countries where the workers were employed,\" he said at a
\npress conference.<\/p>\n
He was referring to the recent move led by volunteer Imam
\nPrasodjo to help 19 women workers return from Soekarno-Hatta
\nInternational Airport to their remote home villages in Cianjur,
\nWest Java. Imam, who is also a lecturer at the University of
\nIndonesia, was accompanied by a legislator, an airport authority
\nofficial and a police officer in providing the women clothes and
\nsome money to buy their bus tickets home.<\/p>\n
The 19 workers were returned to Indonesia for developing
\nproblems with their employers and host families in Kuwait and
\nother Middle Eastern countries, where they were working as
\nmigrant workers.<\/p>\n
Imam has stressed that he and other fellow volunteers had no
\npolitical motive for their actions, but helped the troubled
\nworkers solely for humanitarian reasons.<\/p>\n
The manpower ministry has been also criticized for the sexual
\nabuse and maltreatment of four other women workers, who arrived
\nhome from the Middle East last Friday. The four, who have
\nsuffered severe distress, are still receiving medical treatment
\nand counseling at the National Police Hospital in Kramat Jati,
\nEast Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The public's anger was roused last year when the government
\nresponded slowly to Malaysian authorities' arresting hundreds of
\nillegal Indonesian workers and deporting more than 750 others.
\nDozens of workers died of hunger and serious illnesses in the
\nEast Kalimantan district of Nunukan, which borders East Malaysia,
\nafter they had lost their overseas livelihood.<\/p>\n
The manpower ministry has been criticized for being
\nunprofessional its management of the labor export and the rampant
\nextortion of the sector -- from recruitment to training, to
\noverseas placement, until their return home.<\/p>\n
Data from the Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers
\n(Kopbumi) and the Solidarity for Women (SP) show that 60 migrant
\nworkers have died during their overseas employment, while
\nhundreds of others have been repatriated for problems with their
\noverseas employers this year.<\/p>\n
The government has placed more than 420,000 workers, mostly in
\nthe Middle East and the Asia Pacific, including Malaysia,
\nSingapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
Director General for Labor Placement Overseas I Gusti Gede
\nArke at the ministry defended the labor export, which he said was
\npart of the government's program to cope with the unemployment
\nthat has reached an alarming level. He said the negative
\nincidents were isolated cases of the program that has benefited
\nmillions of Indonesian workers and their families.<\/p>\n
\"Not only third parties, NGOs and the press, but the
\ngovernment is also quite concerned over all the incidents that
\nhave befallen our migrant workers. We don't wish them to develop
\ntroubles in their workplaces. Labor extortion is still
\nrampant ... but the public should know that not only this
\nministry, but also many other government agencies are involved in
\nlabor export.<\/p>\n
He also revealed that a great many workers had traveled on
\ntourist visas, or had taken illegal measures through unauthorized
\nparties to enter foreign countries and find work.<\/p>\n
Arke insisted the government had no plans to close down
\nTerminal 3, a special terminal at the airport dedicated to
\ndispatching workers to their new posts and to receiving
\nrepatriating migrant workers. The terminal is overcrowded almost
\nevery day, as between 500 and 900 workers arrive at the terminal
\ndaily -- more than that on the eve of the fasting month of
\nRamadhan.<\/p>\n
\"The terminal is managed jointly by state-owned PT Angkasa
\nPura, the manpower ministry and labor exporters, and is part of
\nthe labor export system as regulated by Ministerial Decree No.
\n104A\/2002 on labor placement,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Many parties have strongly urged the government to close down
\nthe terminal, where \"the satanic circle of labor exploitation
\nstarts, on the workers' trip home following their arrival in
\nJakarta\".<\/p>\n
Arke pledged to tighten the procedures of the labor export to
\nhelp decrease the number of troubled workers in the future.<\/p>\n
\"We are waiting for inputs from concerned parties to help
\nrevamp the labor export program and accelerate it to improve the
\ngovernment's revenue from the sector.\"<\/p>\n
According to data at the manpower ministry, around one million
\nworkers are working legally overseas, while around 500,000 others
\nare employed illegally, including 46,000 in United States.<\/p>\n
Last year, the government received US$1 billion in revenue
\nfrom the export of more than 650,000 workers.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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