Government called on to help troubled workers in Taiwan

JAKARTA (JP): An Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) legislator called on the government and the Labor Export Association (Apjati) on Friday to tackle the problem of some 2,500 Indonesian workers who had abandoned their workplaces in Taiwan.

Jacob Nuwa Wea, deputy chairman of the House of Representatives' Commission VII for labor and social welfare, said the Taiwanese government had complained that 2,500 of the 81,000 Indonesians employed in industrial, construction and household sectors had absconded from their workplace for unclear reasons.

"Taiwan's Commission of Labor Affairs (Cola) has set June 1 for the workers to return to their workplace. The commission has threatened to take legal action against them if they fail to meet the deadline," Jacob said upon his arrival from Taiwan on Friday.

Jacob along with several other legislators conducted a comparative study in Taiwan in connection with their deliberation of the bill on labor export and protection.

He said the number of workers who had fled their workplace had reached 3.5 percent, almost twice the tolerable limit set by the Taiwanese government of two percent for such labor cases.

Jacob regretted the absence of an informal approach from the Indonesian trade promotion office in Taiwan and the presence of a labor attache to help tackle the labor problem, saying the problem would effect Taiwan's recruitment of Indonesian workers.

"If the government fails to tackle the problem, Taiwan has threatened to close its door to Indonesian workers," he said, citing that his delegation had met with Cola and the Taiwanese House of Representatives to help the Indonesian government solve the problem.

Asked about reasons why the workers left their jobs, Jacob, also chairman of the Federation of Indonesian Workers Union (FSPSI), said that most workers concerned claimed they had experienced difficulties in their workplace or were seeking higher wages.

"Some of the workers were unskilled while others quit their job for companies that offered higher salaries," he said. Indonesian workers employed in the industrial and construction sectors are paid around Rp 7 million monthly, he said.

He said labor exporters should provide adequate training for workers before they were sent overseas to avoid such problems in the future and legal protection for those who were exploited.

"Indonesia should learn from the Philippines whose workers speak foreign languages and are well trained in their profession," he said. (rms)