C. Java sent 1,500 workers abroad

C. Java sent 1,500 workers abroad

SEMARANG: The Central Java office of the Ministry of Manpower
announced here Wednesday that it sent a total of 1,556 workers to
seven countries last January.

"The seven countries were Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia,
Brunei Darussalam, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi," the office
chief, Andi Usman, said as quoted by Antara.

According to Usman, the workers were mainly domestic helpers
and oil-palm plantation and plywood industry hands.

Usman disclosed that over the period of five years up to June
1998, Central Java sent 426,332 workers to Saudi Arabia and
704,261 to other countries.

"From the quality point of view, however, Indonesian workers
are inferior, even compared to their peers from the Philippines,"
he said.