Government tightens rules on sending workers abroad

JAKARTA (JP): Alarmed by reports about Indonesian workers being abused overseas, the government is clamping down on companies which send workers abroad.

Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief yesterday gave out 13 licenses for manpower supplier companies, the first issued since he issued a new regulation in August compelling companies to raise their levels of capital and to reregister.

He is withholding the permits from another 45 applicants until he is sure that the workers they send abroad will not be subjected to poor treatment.

"We have stiff requirements in exporting goods, like textile. So why not manpower? Every day we read newspaper reports on the need to protect the workers," Latief told journalists after presenting operation licenses to the 13 manpower suppliers whose applications have been approved.

Many manpower suppliers have been established "without good intentions" and are "dishonest", he said.

Before he revamped the regulations in August, 302 manpower supplier companies were registered with the ministry. "But the addresses of about half of them were not known," Latief said.

Director General for Manpower Placement Abdul Rachim said only 85 of the 302 registered companies have come forward to have their permits renewed. Besides these firms, there were 16 new companies forwarding their applications.

Latief said he was withholding the licenses of the 45 companies because they did not meet the administrative requirements.

Rachim said that once issued, the licenses will be effective as long as the companies abide by the regulations.

On the same occasion, Latief signed a memorandum of understanding with the Trade Management Development Institute, a consultant company hired by the government to provide management training for executives of manpower supplier companies. The institute is led by former trade minister Rachmat Saleh.

Under the three-year agreement, the institute will work on the marketing development of the placement of Indonesian workers abroad and the management of manpower suppliers.

The institute also has been asked to draw up a master plan for a national program for the placement of Indonesian workers abroad.

Commenting on the case of Indonesian female workers in Malaysia who were forced into prostitution and pregnancy, Latief said the government had revoked the licenses of the two manpower suppliers involved in the case and had reported the companies to the police.

Rachim said that the directors of the companies were still at large. "We have not found them, but police are now handling the case."

According to Rachim, the women went to Malaysia without any working permits.

Earlier reports said that at least 13 female workers had been forced to become sex workers and were prevented from using contraceptives. Three of them had delivered babies, which were taken away from the mothers soon after birth. The infants were sold for the equivalent of Rp 6.5 million for a boy and Rp 4.3 million for a girl, Antara reported.

Rachim confirmed that five of the women had returned to Indonesia, but refused to elaborate, saying the manpower ministry was still waiting for more reports from the Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia.

In order to provide more legal protection for Indonesian workers in Malaysia, the government is considering hiring foreign lawyers to help resolve labor disputes, Latief said. "We are arranging this matter with Malaysia."

Latief said most Indonesian workers are ignorant about their rights and this has left them open to abuse by brokers and employers overseas.

He also warned that many Indonesian workers who left without going through the proper channels would likely have problems. "They were not patient. They just left."

It is estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000 Indonesians are working in Malaysia illegally.

Indonesia is determined to phase out the sending of unskilled workers abroad gradually. By 1999, only skilled workers will be sent abroad, Latief said. (sim)