Labor exporters urge Din to resign

Labor exporters urge Din to resign

JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Indonesian Labor Export
Companies (Apjati) urged on Wednesday the director general of
labor placement, Din Syamsuddin, to step down, saying he lacked
competence.

The association's chairman, Abdulla Umar, quoted labor
exporters as complaining that Din was unable to create a
conducive climate for accelerated labor exports, and instead took
many measures and actions which were considered
counterproductive.

"He does not understand this business sector. He has issued
policies which have triggered distortion, stagnation and division
among labor exporters," he said.

Umar said Din frequently punished labor exporters who were
found guilty of violating labor-related laws without consulting
Apjati and its honorary council. The council was established
during the tenure of former manpower minister Fahmi Idris, which
ended last October.

"We support stiff action against errant companies, but only
after consulting us. There is an impression that the government
is discriminative in upholding the regulations, since many other
companies violating the law are exempted," he said.

He particularly criticized the government's recent decision to
issue 200 more licenses to labor export companies. He said it had
triggered unhealthy competition among labor exporters and
devalued Indonesian labor overseas.

"Indonesian workers' bargaining power has weakened because of
the presence of Gapertindo, the rival labor exporters
association," he said.

Din was not available for comment on Wednesday. He said
recently 80 percent of the more than 400 labor exporting
companies were unprofessional in the way they dispatched workers
overseas and provided legal protection for workers in trouble.
(rms)