Lack of protection haunt workers
A. Junaidi, Jakarta
Indonesian migrant workers are observing this year's International Labor Day, with the government's failure to protect them remaining as one of their major concerns.
"I have not taken days off for almost three years. I also heard many of my friends were abused by their employers," Nining, who has worked as a housemaid in Singapore for seven years, told a discussion.
Speaking at the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan), the 32-year-old migrant worker complained about the lack of protection her government provided for their people working abroad.
Labor activists and observers shared Nining's opinion, saying that unprotected migrant workers had no bargaining power vis-a- vis their employers.
"As of now, there is no law that protects our migrant workers. We have proposed the bill, but it has not been discussed, let alone endorsed," chairperson of the Indonesian Workers Protection and Development Association (PPTKI) Nurmawati said on Friday.
Nurmawati regretted the lack of protection for Indonesian workers abroad, despite their contribution to the country's income.
She said the government's indifference was visible in its response to the cases of five Indonesian maids, who could face death sentences in Singapore because of murder allegations.
"The government started to take action only after many NGOs (non-governmental organizations) rallied and urged it to save the workers," she said.
In commemoration of International Labor Day or May Day, Nurmawati said hundreds of workers and activists from various NGOs would stage a rally at Hotel Indonesia traffic circle on Saturday.
She said participants of the rally would proceed to the Singaporean Embassy in South Jakarta to demand the release of the five housemaids, identified as Sudarti, Aminah, Purwanti, Sumiyati and Juminem.
Sudarti's verdict will be delivered on May 10, while murder charges involving the remaining four maids are still under police investigation.
Nurmawati said the workers and activists would demand the endorsement of a migrant worker bill.
"We urge the government and the House of Representatives to endorse the bill soon," she asserted.
About 1.3 million Indonesians are working overseas, especially in Middle Eastern countries, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia.
There have been reports of abuse experienced by Indonesian migrant workers, both overseas and at home.
Labor observer and former manpower minister Bomer Pasaribu said currently, regional autonomy had worsened the labor situation in the country.
"Not only do our workers lack protection, but also supervision and law enforcement, which has led to a worse situation," Bomer, who chairs the Center for Labor and Development Studies (CLDS), said.
He considered that the occupational health and safety campaign had decreased in line with an increase in the role of regional administrations in the regional autonomy era.
Without elaborating, he agreed the number of workers involved in accidents was even higher than reported by the International Labor Organization (ILO), as many cases were unreported.
The ILO announced on Wednesday that fatal accidents totaled 2.2 million people worldwide per year -- more than war casualties.