Cases of abuse of Indonesian workers expected to continue
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta
The violence against Indonesian workers employed as maids overseas could increase in the future because of the absence of an effective mechanism to monitor their condition, according to experts on the subject.
Both the government and labor agencies conceded here on Tuesday that they had found it difficult to monitor the condition of Indonesian workers employed in the informal sector for numerous reasons.
Director General for Overseas Labor Placement at the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry I Gusti Made Arka said that the government had done much to provide protection for workers but it was found less effective since labor abuse is still frequent.
"The government has appointed labor attaches in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia and, in addition, it has signed a labor agreement with the two countries, but... such abuse still happens," he said in a meeting with labor exporters in line with the tragic abuse of 19-year-old Nirmala Bonat in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
He explained that Indonesia had signed a labor agreement with Saudi Arabia and Malaysia in 1996 and 2004, respectively, but the agreements had been found ineffective in averting violence against workers in the informal sector.
"Besides the absence of a legislation, other related authorities, including the police, the immigration office and security authorities, are still lacking coordination to prevent the departure of illegal and untrained job-seekers and this has indirectly contributed to labor abuses because such job-seekers will certainly develop troubles during their employment. They could be mistreated, underpaid, tortured or raped," he said.
Panca Karsa Foundation in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, has recorded that the number of Indonesian workers killed during their employment overseas has increased from 21 in 2002 to 32 in 2003 and 20 from Jan. to May, 2004 while the number of labor abuses has gone up from 87 in 2002 to 180 in 2003 and 120 from January to May, 2004.
Around 500 workers arrive home via the International Soekarno- Hatta Airport almost every day and an average of ten percent of them were deported for developing trouble with their employers overseas. An estimated 1.5 million Indonesians are working in Malaysia, Singapore, the Middle East, Hong Kong and Taiwan and most are employed in the informal sector.
Djamal, secretary-general of the Indonesian Labor Exporters Association (Idea), the rampant labor abuses had a lot to do with the absence of a monitoring mechanism because the workers were employed as domestic helpers.
"It is impossible for the labor attaches and labor exporters to check the condition of each worker routinely and it looks impossible because many of the house maids are not even monitored by the government or their relatives," he said.
Rusdhie A., deputy chairman of the Indonesian Labor Supplying Companies Association (Apjati), said the rampant labor abuse was also related to cultural issues.
"Labor abuse is rampant in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia because the workers have been treated as slaves. Male employers employ them more than the conventional working hours while male employers have frequently abused them (for sex) and their culture is far different from ours," he said.
Endang Susilowati, director of the Panca Karsa Foundation, in Mataram, told The Jakarta Post that the government and labor exporters could not use the absence of a monitoring mechanism as an excuse to avoid responsibility for the labor abuse.
"The government should give workers a red-carpet welcome upon their arrival home and help out troubled ones since they contribute so much foreign exchange," he said, adding President Megawati Soekarnoputri should show her concern for them by visiting Nirmala in Malaysia.
Manpower and Transmigration Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea was scheduled to go with Nirmala's mother Martha Toni to Kuala Lumpur to convey the government's deep concern over the labor abuse and to visit Nirmala still staying with hundreds of other Indonesian troubled workers at the Indonesian Embassy in the city.