8,000 TKI work illegally in Syiria

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea expressed his deep disappointment over the fact that some 8,000 Indonesians were working illegally in Syria, even though Indonesia had no labor export arrangements with that country.

Following his finding, he vowed to investigate the case thoroughly.

He said that besides making efforts to legalize the status of the workers to ensure they received protection, he would also bring to court all the companies involved in illegally supplying workers to the Middle Eastern country.

"Regardless of their skills, the workers are liable to exploitation, mistreatment and underpayment because they lack the necessary documentation to work in the country," he said after talking to seven of the workers, all female, at the Indonesian Embassy in Damascus on Monday.

Nuwa Wea along and his entourage made up of members of the House of Representatives and representatives of labor export associations were in Syria to see at first hand the way Indonesian workers were being treated in Middle Eastern countries.

Claims of labor exploitation would appear to be borne out by the fact that around 50 workers show up almost everyday at the embassy to seek help and mediation services.

Most of the illegal workers were sent to Syria by PT Adi Santa Kencana, whose license has now been revoked, PT Adi Santa Kencana Mas (Jimmy), PT ABRI, PT Asfrida Family, PT Mega Untaian, PT Amira Prima, PT Dewi Moro Langgeng and PT Pira Suka.

The Director General of Overseas Labor Placement, I Gusti Made Arka, said none of the eight companies had licenses to send workers overseas.

Roinci, 17, who was sponsored by PT Adi Santa Kencana, told the minister that she had been employed as a domestic by a Syrian family for two-and-a-half months. After this, she had fled to the embassy as she could no longer endure the violence inflicted on her by her employer.

"I ran away because I was frequently beaten," she said, adding that her mother worked as a domestic in Qatar.

Aisyah, also sent by PT Adi Santa Kencana, said she ran away from her employer's residence after she had almost been raped by an unidentified assailant.

During the visit, Nuwa Wea also met with his Syrian counterpart, Silham Dalu. During the meeting, they resolved to draw up a bilateral agreement to provide legal and insurance protection for Indonesian workers employed in Syria.

Dalu said her country needed foreign workers to work as domestics, and had hired around 31,000 foreign workers from various countries, including Indonesia, since 2001.

The two ministers also agreed that the minimum wage payable to Indonesian workers should be US$160 per month, and that all Syrians who wanted to recruit foreign workers would be required to pay $1,000 as a bond to the country's Manpower Ministry. They further said that labor exports to Syria would require the consent of the two countries' governments.

In his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nuwa Wea also found ten illegal workers stranded at Dubai International Airport in Dubai and asked the Indonesian Embassy to repatriate the illegal workers.

The ten workers, who had already been at the airport for several days, had been sent by six labor export companies, PT Amanah Sejahtera, PT Almina Indah, PT Bina Citra Kreasi, PT Acindo, PT Mutiara Bahari Alam Ria and PT Jaya Mandiri Perkasa.

The companies would be required to pay for the workers' flights home and their owners would facing court charges, said the minister.

Almost 1.5 million Indonesian workers are employed in foreign countries around the world, including the Middle Eastern countries. Most are employed as household and domestic staff, and more than 75 percent of them lack an adequate level of education and the minimum skills necessary to do their jobs.