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.