HK still needs Indonesian workers despite handover
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)