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.