Banks to help Indonesians work obroad
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta
Frustrated by complicated problems in labor export, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea has sought the support of several private and state-owned banks to provide credit schemes for Indonesians working overseas.
"The bank credit, ranging from Rp 10 million (US$1,149) to Rp 30 million, would cover recruitment and training fees, necessary documents and plane tickets. Workers would enjoy a very low interest rate, and the repayment of their credit would not overburden them and their families," Nuwa Wea told The Jakarta Post at his office here on Wednesday.
Nuwa Wea said, that with the implementation of the bank credit scheme, workers would no longer depend on usurers in rural areas who had obtained excessive interest, nor on certain labor exporters covering workers' recruitment and training fees.
He declined to identify the banks because they were still discussing common requirements for the credit scheme, but said the credit scheme was expected to be of mutual benefit, both to the workers and the banks.
"Under the present practice, most workers do not enjoy their first year of working overseas as a big part of their monthly salary is cut to pay their debts to labor exporters and usurers," the minister said.
He acknowledged that labor exporters had partially been responsible for violence against Indonesian workers employed abroad as they had treated the workers like commodities.
"Workers have been charged recruitment and training fees but, in fact, they have often been subjected to inhumane treatment and are not trained adequately before they are employed. Many labor exporters have even manipulated the documents of workers who go home, or die, so that new workers can avoid the obligatory training, which only lands them in trouble with their employers," he said.
The minister also defended his recent unprecedented measure to suspend the operation of 25 labor-supplying companies that were found unprofessional, despite the strong protest of their association.
"We are even considering suspending the operation of more than 40 other labor-supplying companies for their frequent violation of Ministerial Decree No. 104/2002 on labor-export procedure," he said. He added that most of the 25 companies had no training center and, thus, sent untrained workers abroad.
Nuwa Wea said, that if the labor exporters objected to the imposed punishment, they could file a complaint with the police, take the matter to the State Administrative Court or sue him.
Many labor exporters and their associations have protested the minister's action, saying relevant officials of the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry had refused to clarify the alleged violations.
Asked about the draft law on workers' protection overseas, the minister said the bill was "still on President Megawati Soekarnoputri's table at the State Palace".
"We are still waiting for her (Megawati's) approval to submit it to the House of Representatives for deliberation," he said, adding that he was optimistic that the bill would be enacted before Megawati's tenure ends in October.