'Don't stop sending migrant workers'

'Don't stop sending migrant workers'

JAKARTA: Coordinating Minister for Peoples' Welfare Jusuf Kalla refuted on Friday calls by a fellow Cabinet minister to stop sending female workers abroad.

"Stopping the flow of migrant workers is not the answer as we have to deal with a high unemployment rate here. What we need to do is ensure that they are legally protected," Jusuf said on Friday.

The call to stop sending women migrant workers to Middle Eastern countries was voiced by State Minister of Women's Empowerment Sri Redjeki Soemarjoto on Thursday.

The demand came as a result of the increase in violence against workers in the region.

There are about two million Indonesian migrant workers in the Middle East and about 70 percent of that number work as housemaids.

"What we need to do is to stop the physical abuse and harassment and improve the legal protection of our workers abroad," Jusuf said.--JP