Apjati to hold congress

JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Labor Export Companies (Apjati) plans to hold an extraordinary congress later this month to revamp the association and review labor export procedures.

A congress was not planned until 2002, but due to complicated problems within the association and labor export procedures an extraordinary meeting will be held in Bogor, West Java, from May 23 to May 25.

Abdulla Umar, the Apjati chairman, said on Wednesday that all 375 labor exporters grouped in the association would be invited to attend the congress in order to evaluate weaknesses in the organization and in labor export procedures.

The congress' participants as well as the government will also evaluate all government rulings that are considered to hamper labor exports, he said.

"During the congress, participants and the government are expected to agree upon the standard quality of workers sent overseas and standard protection for them to minimize problems Indonesian workers will face," he said. (rms)