Govt called to tighten immigration policy
Dewi Santoso, Jakarta
Labor activists are urging the government to tighten its policy on immigrant workers following findings that the country has become a safe haven for illegal foreign workers.
The Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration recently conducted an investigation and found that many foreigners in Jakarta and its outskirts were using fake work permits.
Many foreigners arrive in Indonesia on tourist or business visas and change their status once they get a job or sponsor here.
Chairwoman of the National Front for the Struggle of Indonesian Workers (FNPBI) Dita Indah Sari, said on Saturday that the government needed to combat corruption, collusion and nepotism within the immigration office.
"They (illegal immigrant workers) won't be able to stay, work or live here without a permit if the immigration office can apply a stricter policy," said Dita.
Immigration counters across the country are supposed to check, among other things, the visa and return tickets of tourists visiting Indonesia and sponsorship letter of those who want to work in the country.
Chairman of the Labor Union of State-owned enterprises Abdul Azis Hasan agreed with Dita, and added that the government needed to limit the number of sectors in which immigrant workers can work.
Abdul pointed out that, currently, immigrants were taking up jobs in virtually all sectors, including transportation, construction and consultancy firms and learning institutions.
"These sectors actually don't need expatriates to do the work. But many companies still hire them as they (foreigners) will help raise the companies' prestige and values," Abdul told The Jakarta Post.
According to data from the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, the number of expatriates registered with the ministry went down to about 19,000 in 2003, from 50,000 in 2000 and 78,000 in 1996, due to the prolonged economic crisis.
However, the ministry said that despite the decline, the real number of expatriates working in Jakarta, Batam, Riau, Bali, Yogyakarta and Surabaya was probably higher, as many of them were believed to be staying in the country illegally.
Thus, Abdul said, the ideal solution was for the government to issue a regulation that would limit immigrants to work only in certain fields, such as information technology (IT).
"Why IT? Because the development of the IT sector in the country is still not as fast as that of western countries. There are some materials that cannot be manufactured by the country's local companies as they are not familiar with the process, and for this, we need immigrant workers who really have the knowledge on how to do it right," he explained.
Labor activist Mochtar Pakpahan agreed with Abdul, saying that the government needed to restrict the issuance of working permits to immigrant workers for the benefit of local workers.
"A lot of immigrant workers get into the country by using false documents or conspiring with some of the immigration office's officials," said Mochtar.