Government admits migrant workers not well protected

Government admits migrant workers not well protected

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta

A government official and a labor observer said on Thursday the
widespread abuse of Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) was caused
by the absence of an integrated system of protection during their
employment.

Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration spokesman Hotma
Pandjaitan said the country had been developing its labor export
sector for over 20 years, but had not yet taken the necessary
measures to provide maximum protection for migrant workers.

In addition, Jakarta had not yet signed any bilateral
agreements with countries where Indonesian workers were employed,
nor posted labor attaches to provide counsel and guidance to
affected workers.

"The government has submitted a draft law on labor protection
to the House of Representatives and appointed manpower minister
Jacob Nuwa Wea as its representative during the bill's
deliberation. The government expects the bill to be endorsed in
September," Hotma told The Jakarta Post by telephone.

He was responding to the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW)
report released on Wednesday, which declared the rampant abuse of
migrant workers in Malaysia -- most of whom are Indonesian -- was
directly related to the two countries' lack of laws protecting
workers.

Nisha Varia, a researcher of women's rights at the HRW,
revealed that thousands of Indonesian maids in Malaysia were
victims of physical and emotional abuse. They had scant legal
protection and were thus denied basic rights.

Many maids were assaulted or raped by their employers, worked
up to 18 hours a day, seven days a week, were usually prohibited
from leaving their place of employ and denied even their meager
pay of less than U.S. 25 cents an hour.

"We're especially concerned about Malaysia because of the
systemic problems. For example, the exclusion of domestic workers
from any type of legal protection is of great concern," she was
quoted by Reuters.

The latest major case that shocked and outraged Kuala Lumpur
arose in May, in which Nirmala Bonat, a migrant worker from East
Nusa Tenggara, was found to have been physically and emotionally
scarred by her Malaysian employer over several months of
sustained abuse.

Hotma added that Indonesia and Malaysia were in the process of
preparing a bilateral agreement on workers employed in the
informal sector.

The two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding in May
on migrant workers employed in the formal sector.

Yunus Yamani, chairman of Wali Amanah, a private social
security agency for Indonesian migrant workers, agreed with
Hotma, saying relevant authorities were uncoordinated in
preventing Indonesians from working abroad illegally.

"Most workers who were tortured, raped or unpaid had entered
Malaysia illegally. They could do nothing to seek protection
because of their illegal status, and this was also used by their
employers to withhold their salaries," he said, adding that
similar conditions existed behind the abuse of Indonesian workers
in the Middle East.

He said the manpower ministry needed to enhance its
coordination with the home ministry, the navy and immigration
authorities to eradicate human smuggling to Malaysia.

Yunus also said Kuala Lumpur should also take harsh measures
against Malaysians who employed illegal workers to curb the
number of labor abuse cases.

"Malaysian employers recruit many illegal migrants to harvest
palm oil on their plantations, then ask security personnel to
deport them after harvest season," he said.

Separately, foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda said the
Malaysian government was expected to deport between 500,000 and
600,000 illegal workers next year.

"We have six months to prepare the location, repatriation
routes and transportation," he said, adding that the two
countries would also discuss sharing the deportation costs.

"In the past, we split the costs evenly, but we have not yet
discussed the deportation planned for next year," Hassan said.