HK still needs Indonesian workers despite handover

JAKARTA (JP): Hong Kong's reunification with China in July will not affect the demand for Indonesian workers, Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief said yesterday.

Latief said an estimated 20,000 Indonesians currently work in the British colony on a two-yearly contract basis.

"They (Hong Kong) have asked Indonesia to send another 50,000 to 80,000," Latief told journalists after meeting with President Soeharto at Merdeka Palace.

Latief said Hong Kong people are generally reluctant to employ workers from mainland China because the job seekers usually bring along their family, resulting in demographic problems.

"Hong Kong will have a big problem if it lets mainland Chinese workers stream in," Latief said.

Filipino and Thai workers, numbering up to 400,000 in Hong Kong, are Indonesians' main competitors, Latief said.

Most Indonesian workers in Hong Kong are domestic helpers. The government has repeatedly said the export of unskilled workers would be replaced with skilled ones.

Critics say the export of unskilled workers is to blame for the persistent reports on the lack of legal protection and mistreatment, including sexual abuse, by their employers.

An unskilled Indonesian worker earns about US$500 while a skilled worker earns US$700 a month in Hong Kong, according to Latief.

Latief said the government has approved requests from 139 of the 200 companies seeking pay hike deferral. The new minimum wages became effective on April 1 throughout the country.

The minimum wages have been raised every year since its introduction in 1992, when the average daily minimum wage was Rp 2,000. Minimum monthly wages now average Rp 153 (US$62.65).

Latief said more companies which consider the raise too high are expected to ask for postponement.

"Most of the companies (which object to the pay rise) are labor intensive ones," he said.

PT Jamsostek

In a meeting with the President, Latief said state-owned insurance company PT Astek's membership has dramatically risen from eight million in 1993 to almost 16 million at present. By the end of 1998, the figure is expected to reach 21.5 million, he said.

The company's total assets have soared from Rp 2.7 trillion (US$1.1 billion) in 1993 to Rp 7 trillion at present.

Its net profit has also steadily risen from Rp 52 billion in 1994 to Rp 81 billion in 1995 and Rp 106 billion last year. It is projected to skyrocket to Rp 128 billion this year, the minister said.

The company is currently building a Rp 340 billion plaza on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta. The project will be completed by January next year, Latief said. (pan)