Abused workers to sue worker placement agency

JAKARTA (JP): One hundred and five women migrant workers plan to sue a labor placement agency for allegedly keeping them confined for almost a year under poor conditions at the company's dormitory in Condet, East Jakarta.

Speaking on behalf of the women, Nurul Qoiriah of the Center for Indonesian Migrant Workers (CIMW) told reporters on Wednesday that executives of PT Sukma Karya Sejati (SKS) had violated numerous regulations, including Ministry of Manpower regulation No.2/1994 on the treatment of migrant workers in shelters.

"We'll assist the workers in pressing legal charges against the company for locking them in a shelter for months under poor living conditions," she said.

The firm, Nurul added, had also committed crimes such as neglecting the well-being of the 105 women, which violates Article 304 of the Criminal Code.

At least one worker died due to mistreatment at the dormitory, she said.

"The workers couldn't even participate in the June general election since they were not allowed to leave the premises," she said.

Last Monday, CIMW and two other non-governmental organizations -- Pijar Indonesia and Pancasila Student Movement for Reforms (GEMPUR) -- coordinated an evacuation of the workers following reports from the women that they were being mistreated by the company.

At first, the three organizations intended to evacuate 39 workers, who had given power of attorney to the organizations to act on their behalf.

Seeing their 39 fellow workers leave the premises, the others abruptly joined the group. The compound's security personnel were powerless to stop the workers heading toward the gate, Nurul explained.

Cucu Sarikanah, one of the workers, recalled: "We received no proper meals, got no medical treatment and were not allowed to leave the shelter unless we paid a guarantee fund of Rp 1.5 million (US$205)."

She said they were treated so badly that one of the workers, Tuti Setianingsih, died because she could not leave the premises to seek medical help.

Sarikanah went on to explain that most of the workers came from Central and East Java where they made contact with brokers, who then "sold" them to PT SKS.

The company promised to channel the workers to various jobs in neighboring Malaysia, for which the company would collect and keep the workers' first four months' salaries.

However, she added, some had spent an entire year in the dormitory without being sent abroad.

Another worker, Endang Suparni, who said she once tried to commit suicide out of frustration, described the place as a chicken coop where workers slept on a bare floor.

"It's a large, open space and no mattresses were available. We just slept on the floor," she said.

A statement released by CIMW says the compound is surrounded by a two-meter wall with barbed wire on top. In addition, workers were told not to socialize with local residents in Condet.

According to CIMW, the agency also monitored the workers' telephone conversations and provided no televisions on the premises. None of the company's executives could be reached for comment. (03)