JP/4/TKI
Law, bilateral agreements urgent for migrant workers
A. Junaidi The Jakarta Post Jakarta
The enactment of a law protecting migrant workers in receiving countries is much more urgently needed than the recently signed joint ministerial decree to set up advocacy teams overseas, observers said.
Wahyu Susilo of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Committee (Kopbumi) and former manpower minister Bomer Pasaribu were referring to the joint decree signed by seven ministers on the establishment of advocacy teams abroad to help migrant workers.
Wahyu said the plan was not feasible as there were simply not enough team members to cater to the 1.2 million Indonesian workers employed in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait alone, according to the latest figures. Minister of Manpower Jacob Nuwa Wea said 80 people would cater to some 800,000 workers in these countries, the main destinations for Indonesian workers in the Middle East.
"Besides, even if the agreement says the teams are to be partly financed by the existing protection fees paid by workers, usually there are new levies imposed for every new scheme the government comes up with, Wahyu added. He also said the teams should not include representatives of the labor supply companies, which have been widely identified as being part of the problem. Many of these companies have been found to have sent workers abroad illegally.
On Monday, seven ministers -- Coordinating Minister for Peoples' Welfare Jusuf Kalla, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda, Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agil Al-Munawar, Minister for Women's Empowerment Sri Redjeki Soemaryoto, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra, and Minister of Communications Agum Gumelar, as well as Minister Jacob -- signed the decree.
According to the article 2 of the decree, the teams, each consisting of four members, will be placed in cities abroad depending on the need.
Wahyu pointed to a similar, well-meaning joint decree on migrant workers signed two years ago, which had failed to bring about any meaningful changes
Non-governmental organizations such as Kopbumi have long been urging the enactment of a law on migrant worker protection. Wahyu also said that bilateral agreements between Indonesia and receiving countries were urgently needed. Despite the setting up of the advocacy teams, "in the absence of a law on migrant workers and bilateral agreements, the problems will not be capable of being resolved thoroughly," he explained
Bomer Pasaribu, now a researcher on the manpower field, reiterated his view that as "70 percent of the problems" related to migrant workers stemmed from conditions within the country, the teams would likely be able to solve only some 30 percent of the problems.
He said problems arose due to lack of care in the recruitment of workers, lack of integrity on the part of many labor supply firms, and the extensive network of agencies and brokers which were responsible for many of the abuses perpetrated against migrant workers. The situation was compounded by the absence of a specific law.
Duties of the advocacy teams according to Article 4 of the decree: --------------------------------------------------------- a. Providing protection and legal assistance, defending basic rights. b. Collecting data on migrant workers c. Identifying the names and addresses of employers d. Providing guidance for migrant workers e. Providing counseling and representing workers facing problems f. Helping to solve disputes between migrant workers and employers g. Helping with administrative and document-related problems h. Intervening in cases of non-payment of salaries. i. Upholding the rights of migrant workers who have been dismissed. j. Supporting legal action by migrant workers where their rights have been infringed. k. Helping resolve disputes between migrant workers and third parties. l. Helping arrange compensation or insurance payments in the case of work-related accidents or death m. Assisting with the return of migrant workers to Indonesia n. Other duties as assigned by the relevant ministers.