Govt seeks approval of labor bill

Govt seeks approval of labor bill

JAKARTA: The government has asked the House of Representatives
to speed up the deliberation of a bill on the protection of
migrant workers and endorse it before the general election in
April.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said on
Friday such a law was badly needed as the basis for improvement
in government policy to protect Indonesian workers employed
overseas.

Nuwa Wea said his ministry was drafting regulations, in the
form of ministerial and presidential decrees, to implement the
law.

"The deliberation will start early in February and we will
hopefully finish the debate in three months at the latest," he
said.

The bill is expected to protect migrant workers from abuse and
illegal labor export and placement overseas, practices that are
rampant, the minister said.

Nuwa Wea also said the government would summon at least 10
labor recruitment companies for questioning in connection with
reports of their involvement in the illegal placement of workers
abroad. -- Antara