Govt upset over illegally RI workers overseas

Govt upset over illegally RI workers overseas

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A senior government official expressed his deep concern over
hundreds of thousands of Indonesians working illegally in foreign
countries, thus exposing themselves to trouble.

Director general for labor placement overseas at the Manpower
and Transmigration Ministry, I Gusti Made Arka, said here on
Tuesday that despite the previous amnesty program launched by the
Malaysian government and the ensuing raids, hundreds of thousands
of Indonesian workers have continued to work there without proper
documents.

"Of around 700,000 illegal immigrants employed in (Malaysia),
only 386,000 returned home under the amnesty program launched in
March. Some of them have returned (to Malaysia) by using tourist
visas to work in that country.

"In the meantime, those who did not receive the amnesty and
who escaped the raids remain illegal. They have been underpaid
and made to work more than eight hours a day and without any
healthcare or pension benefit scheme," he said.

He said that Indonesian illegal immigrants employed as
housemaids and in plantations were paid between 5 Malaysian
ringgit (Rp 20,000) and 7 ringgit a day, which they could
actually earn in their home villages.

Arka acknowledged that the government had a constitutional
obligation to provide protection for all citizens, including
those working overseas, but it could not be held responsible for
the "rampant abuse" of Indonesian workers.

"The government has long campaigned for (workers) to use
formal procedures and warned all citizens against working
overseas without necessary documents, but many have intentionally
taken the illegal way to avoid levies, labor training and long
procedures," he said.

He said the abuse of Indonesian workers overseas had a lot to
do with their illegal status and their poor skills.

"Employers will exploit illegal workers and underpay low-
skilled ones," he said.

Many workers have illegally entered Malaysia with the help of
tekong (local brokers), he said, because they have no skills, no
cash and no necessary documents to meet all formal requirements
to work in that country.

Arka added that the government was also perplexed by the
presence of more than 400,000 illegal immigrants in Saudi Arabia,
13,000 in the U.S., 20,000 in South Korea and 8,000 in Japan and
thousands of others in other countries such as Syria, Palestine,
Kuwait and Jordan.

He said the government had difficulty in preventing the
workers from working illegally because they have used tourist,
pilgrimage, or student visas in order to enter these countries.

"Almost 80 percent of the 400,000 illegal immigrants in Saudi
Arabia entered the country using pilgrimage visas that expire
after three months," Arka said.

He also said that many people have used religious visas to
seek work in South Korea and many others have used study visas to
work in the U.S.

He said that the government had revoked the licenses of 27
manpower supply companies for violating the law in supplying
workers overseas.

"At present, four owners of unauthorized labor export
companies are undergoing police interrogation in relation to
their involvement in sending undocumented and unskilled workers
overseas," he said.