Acehnese working, but for how long?
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
Ridwan, a freelance driver, was seen busy wandering around the passenger arrival hall. He approached several potential passengers arriving in Banda Aceh airport from Jakarta and offered them his services.
One by one the passengers turned down the offer as they had already made their own arrangements, but the young Acehnese kept trying, until a security guard warned him to get out as he had entered a restricted area.
He was soon locked in a heated argument with the security guard, saying he was being discriminated against, but then a passenger called, and Ridwan left the guard with a smile.
Ridwan recalls how life has been tough. Competition for jobs has been increasingly fierce as Banda Aceh is recovering after the tsunami disaster that left some 130,000 Acehnese dead and another 500,000 displaced.
The bonanza of cash for work and other temporary jobs in the booming construction projects will soon come to an end.
Right now, "As long as someone has the will to work, he will easily get a job, says Ridwan, a freelance driver for the past two years. "But competition is getting fiercer."
Job sustainability has been a cause for concern in rebuilding Aceh. Currently, the labor market is dominated by construction work. In a joint report released few days ago, the Aceh Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Body (BRR) and its international partners estimate that construction jobs in Aceh and Nias will be in the range of US$100 - US$150 million per month for the two coming years, compared to less than US$10 million per month in 2003.
To meet this demand, the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that about 200,000 skilled laborers such as carpenters, bricklayers and others are required as well as a significant number of unskilled workers. The BRR and the government claimed that priority would be given to the Acehnese victims of the tsunami but given the immediate demand for skilled workers and the time needed for training, many highly skilled workers had to be brought from outside regions, the report said.
The report said the tsunami has led to major changes in the composition and structure of the workforce. While there was a spike in unemployment immediately after the tsunami disaster, the labor force has recovered rapidly one year later. The participation of adult males in the labor force has returned to the pre-tsunami level, while the participation of youth and women has grown substantially.
In order to keep employment at full capacity in the longer term, the BRR and its international partners said in their report that a labor monitoring system had to be developed. Training had to be linked with the job market and the same time, a vocational training coordination center should be set up to ensure the training met a desirable standard.
The current strategy that has been developed by the NGOs and the government in providing the victims of tsunami with "a fishing rod" instead of the fish will be useful to keep employment in Aceh at full capacity in the next few years.
One example of these efforts is Muslim, a resident of Kramat sub-district in Aceh Besar regency. After losing his house and family in the tragedy, he was given a small grant by a German NGO, which paid advance payments on a motorbike, which Muslim used as a motorcycle taxi. He had two years to pay the balance.
With the motorcycle taxi, the 40-year-old former fisherman can now earn a living without being dependent on aid given by NGOs or the government.
"I think my life is on the right track," said Muslim.