Government called on to help troubled workers in Taiwan

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)