Govt does not help migrant workers to compete abroad

Govt does not help migrant workers to compete abroad

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The low quality of human resources, the constant changes in the
official procedures and mostly, the absence of a strong political
commitment from the government have greatly contributed to the
country's failure to compete with other countries in the export
of laborers.

Since the labor export program was launched by former labor
minister Sudomo in 1982, dozens of ministerial decrees have been
issued in attempts to alter the procedures for sending workers
overseas.

Since 1982, the country has had five labor ministers and each
had his own policy, apparently without any intention to maintain
a permanent system, raising confusion both among the workers and
labor exporters on the changing insurance schemes, training
programs, document services, recruitment procedures and labor
contracts.

"So far, the labor export system, starting from workers'
recruitment to their employment overseas and their return is
still very complicated. The complications cause rights abuses,
deception and extortion of the workers," Yunus Yamani, a migrant
worker activist told The Jakarta Post here on Wednesday.

He said it had been quite unfortunate that workers had to deal
with numerous problems once their recruitment began up through
their departure and still when they finally came home.

"So far, there is no permanent procedure of recruitment with
banking support, insurance, certified training standards,
integrated services for documentation, ILO-standardized labor
contracts, a permanent remuneration system in countries and
permanent procedures for handling troubled workers," he said.

According to the existing procedure, a job seeker who wants to
work overseas, has to spend around Rp 20 million, ostensibly to
pay for the recruitment fees and training fees to a labor broker
and a manpower supplying company (PJTKI), administrative fees for
a labor passport, an insurance scheme and a plane ticket to the
country where he/she will be employed.

The changing procedures have also indicated an absence of
commitment by the government to accelerate the development of the
labor export sector.

"So far, the government has shown no intention of establishing
a law on labor employment overseas, to take serious measures
against labor brokers, labor exporters and government officers
found guilty of extorting workers, abusing them and deceiving
them," he said.

Of the 467 manpower supply companies, less than 10 percent
have their own training centers and dormitories while the
remaining 450-plus companies have their workers trained in other
training centers or send them without any training.

In addition, the government has paid inadequate attention to
the protection of workers employed overseas. So far, Indonesia
has yet to endorse bilateral agreements with host countries
employing Indonesian workers, in accordance with the
International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention on the
protection of migrant workers. Besides being less than active,
Indonesia has only appointed labor attaches in Malaysia and the
Saudi Arabian cities of Riyadh and Jeddah.

So far the government, the relevant ministries, the police and
the Attorney General's office, have shown no willingness to do
anything about the illegal trade of workers and many end up
developing troubles caused by their illegal status.

Both President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Manpower Minister
Jacob Nuwa Wea failed to show up in Malaysia last year when
Malaysian authorities were expelling hundreds of thousands of
illegal workers.

Abdullah Umar, another labor activist, shared Yunus's opinion,
saying all sides including the government, PJTKIs and overseas
employers, should share the some of the blame for all the
problems that workers have been facing overseas, but the main
cause was the low quality of the workers.

"Of around 4 million Indonesian workers employed in 13
countries, 80 percent graduated from either elementary or high
school and only 40 percent have any skills," he said.

Unlike workers from the Philippines, Bangladesh and India,
most Indonesian workers are employed as domestic helpers as they
cannot speak English or Arabic.

"Many workers have been abused or dismissed in the past
because they do not know about their rights or because they were
not skilled. For example, a domestic helper did not even know how
to iron the family's clothes because she was never trained," he
said.

Former manpower minister Bomer Pasaribu concurred and said the
government was doing little about improving the labor export
situation which could help cope with the unemployment problems.

"Look at our leaders. They haven't voiced a single protest
about the expulsion of Indonesian workers from that country
(Malaysia)," said Bomer Pasaribu, a labor expert and a former
manpower minister. "I just don't think they are interested."

I Gde Arke, director general for labor placement at the
Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, said the government would
continue to review the ministerial decree on labor exportation.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea said
recently the government was preparing a draft law to provide
legal protection for workers employed overseas and to regulate
the whole business.

Suryo Sumpeno, a labor activist from the Consortium for the
Advocacy of Indonesian Migrant Workers (Kopbumi), said workers
needed a law to protect them from abuse and impose harsher
sanctions against violators.

Suryo said that fraud cases or extortion perpetrated by PJTKIs
to TKIs should be taken to court. "So far, cases have been
settled in the ministry's office. Sometimes PJTKIs extorting TKIs
give their money back. But I don't think that's enough for them
to learn their lessons."

Uday Djalaluddin, who has been in the migrant worker business
since the 1990s, said he did not turn a deaf ear to the hardships
and injustice endured by Indonesian migrant workers (TKI).

"I think, TKIs deserve better protection," said Uday, a
director and owner of a migrant worker supplier (PJTKI).

He added that TKIs brought a lot of foreign exchange earnings,
but instead of receiving adequate protection and recognition,
they drew much attention from vultures who wanted to cash in from
their hard labor.