Lack of protection haunt workers

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.