Labor export sector lets down unskilled workers

Labor export sector lets down unskilled workers

By Ridwan M. Sijabat

JAKARTA (JP): Life is hard for both Maemunah and Sabrina (not
their real names), who worked as domestic helpers in Saudi
Arabia. Both of them lost their jobs last month. Maemunah was
dismissed because her employer was not satisfied with her
performance, while in Sabrina's case, it was because of sexual
abuse.

And Maemunah, a 19-year-old from a remote hamlet in the
Sukabumi regency, West Java, cried hysterically upon her arrival
at Terminal 3 at Soekarno-Hatta Airport last week.

It was not becasue she had lost her job. She told reporters
about her terrible experience on her way back to Indonesia. She
said she was raped by two Pakistani policemen when the Saudi
Arabian plane she was flying in was in transit in Karachi.

"It happened at night when I was in a toilet in a transit
building at the airport," she said.

She said she was also under a lot of stress going back home
because she had nothing to give to her parents, who had paid a
lot of money to finance her flights.

"My employer refused to pay me because I worked for only eight
days before I was dismissed," she said.

She said she was dismissed because of her lack of skill in
doing her job and difficulties in communication with her employer
and his family. Like many of her colleagues, she admitted that
she had not been well prepared for the job.

"I am not familiar with modern life and do not speak Arabian
or English," she said, adding that she speaks only Sundanese and
Bahasa Indonesia in her home village.

Sabrina had worked as a domestic helper for a Saudi Arabian
family in Riyadh for nine months before she was dismissed. She
said that her female employer drove her away as she found that
her husband had "raped" her several times.

"After my dismissal, I went to the Indonesian general
consulate in Riyadh where I was allowed to stay for two weeks.
The consul bought a plane ticket for me to go back home," she
said, adding that she had never been paid during her employment.

She acknowledged she was not skilled but was hired as her
employer was in need of a housemaid to help take care of their
two young children.

Another woman, identified as Swa, admitted that she sold her
body to her rich male employer and his two sons.

"I worked for only two weeks but I made as much money as one
would make working for three years in that country," she said
with a smile.

Swa, who wore a beautiful outfit, had her hair colored and
wore jewelry around her neck and wrists, said she earned a lot of
money because she threatened to reveal the affair to her female
employer.

Abdullah Umar, chairman of the Association of Indonesian Labor
Export Companies, confirmed the three workers' cases and said
that more than 5,000 female workers are still stranded in
Indonesian embassies and consulates in the Middle East for having
trouble with their employers.

He said many labor exporters failed to take responsibility for
the workers they sent overseas because of weak law enforcement.

"The Ministry of Manpower has been too soft and extra cautious
in taking actions against labor exporters who failed to provide
protection for workers. The association has no competence in law
enforcement," he said.

He revealed that the main problem in labor export was the fact
that workers lost out in competition to those from other
countries because of their lack of skills.

"In a simple sample, this can be seen in the numerous cases
concerning our workers in Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Malaysia.
From a religious point of view, the two predominantly Muslim
countries should prefer Indonesian workers to those from the
Philippines and Bangladesh.

"But, in reality, our workers have had more trouble in their
jobs just because they are unskilled," he said.

He conceded the association was facing many hurdles, both from
the government and labor exporters, in its attempt to accelerate
development in the labor export sector.

President of PT Alverdi, which sends workers to the Middle
East, Malaysia and Hong Kong, Umar, said he was concerned with
the condition of most workers who had been sent with poor
preparations for their jobs, foreign languages and culture and
law in countries where they were employed.

"Speaking frankly, the migrant workers cannot speak English or
Arabian, have zero experience in foreign trips and are not
familiar with modern life. These factors have posed numerous
obstacles to them from their departure until their return to
their villages," he said.

He said that besides the oversupply, those factors had also
contributed to the decreasing value of Indonesian workers.

Umar called on the government to review and reset the official
procedure, including the law, to improve the quality of workers
working overseas.

"The government should also audit all labor export companies,
including their training and dormitory facilities. Companies
which do not meet all facilities and minimum capital should be
barred from sending workers and their operation permits should be
revoked," he said.

According to him, the review must be carried out if the
government wants to make the labor export sector an alternative
to coping with the unemployment problem at home.

Din Syamsuddin, director general for labor placement at the
Ministry of Manpower, said the government was planning to launch
a nationwide campaign to inform all Indonesians wanting to work
overseas of their rights and duties, as well as the correct
procedures from the time they leave their villages.

This campaign, he said, was part of the government's attempt
to repair the Indonesian labor market overseas and to improve the
quality of workers to be sent.

A team will be sent to rural areas in Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi
and Nusa Tenggara to disseminate as much information as necessary
to prospective workers.

"With this campaign, no workers are expected to encounter
trouble on their outward and return journeys as well as in their
work place," he said.

An average of 230,000 Indonesians work overseas annually,
contributing about US$1 billion in revenue to the country.