Govt told to ratify convention on migrant workers
Govt told to ratify convention on migrant workers
JAKARTA (JP): Labor unions have called on the government to
ratify the international convention on the protection and rights
of all migrant workers and their families to help safeguard
Indonesian migrants working overseas.
Wahyu Susilo, the chairman of the Consortium for the Advocacy
of Indonesian Migrant Workers (Kopbumi), said Indonesia urgently
needed to ratify the UN convention due to modern-day slavery that
is prevalent among Indonesian workers overseas.
"The UN convention could be used as a legal foundation by the
government to consider a law on the protection of Indonesian
migrant workers and their families overseas," he said, responding
to the World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa,
which ended on Sept. 7.
Wahyu, who was also in the Indonesian delegation to the
conference, said issues on migrant workers gained serious
attention at the week-long meeting on the grounds that
discrimination and torture against migrant workers from Asia and
Africa were rampant.
"Besides the convention on migrant workers, the conference
also recommended that Asian and African countries ratify the
convention against transnational-organized crime and protocol to
prevent, suppress and punish trafficking of people, especially
women," he told The Jakarta Post.
The convention on migrant workers stipulates that both labor
export countries and labor import countries should make a
bilateral agreement to provide maximum protection. It also
guarantees migrant workers' rights for freedom of union,
information and safety in the workplace.
Wahyu lambasted the government's double standards on migrant
workers and labor exporters who mostly treat workers as trade
commodities, which he said partly led to the prevalent torture of
Indonesian workers overseas.
"So far, the government has yet to enact any law that treats
migrant workers as human assets instead of a trade commodity. The
government has not taken any action against labor exporters found
guilty of trading children and women to international
syndicates," he said.
The consortium's data shows that the number of Indonesian
migrant workers who died or were killed in Malaysia, Singapore
and Saudi Arabia reached 29 between January and August of this
year, with 82 others tortured and over 4,500 running away from
employers in Taiwan, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.
Ariest Merdeka Sirait, the coordinator for the Legal Advocacy
and Information System for Workers (Sisbikum), concurred, saying
that Indonesia was classified as one of the major Asian countries
supplying workers overseas.
"Some two million Indonesian workers, mostly women, are
working overseas despite the absence of bilateral agreements with
countries employing Indonesian workers," he said.
Ariest called on the government to take a lesson from the
Philippines on how the neighboring country treats its migrant
workers by providing protection to those encountering trouble
overseas.
"We have long treated our workers as the subject of extortion,
from when they leave their home village until they return home
again," he said.
A. Munir, the chairman of the Legal Aid Foundation for Migrant
Workers (LPBH TKI), said the inhumane treatment of migrant
workers at home and overseas had something to do with the absence
of laws guaranteeing workers' rights and protection from the
government and labor exporters.
"We have frequently reported labor exporters violating
regulations on supplying workers overseas but no actions were
taken against them," Munir said.
He said the government must take tough measures against labor
exporters who poorly treat migrant workers and fail to provide
them with protection.
"Besides, the government should improve labor cooperation with
countries employing a large number of Indonesian workers," Munir
said.
He said the majority of Indonesian workers were employed in
Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Qatar, Oman,
Taiwan and Hong Kong. (rms)