Local workers can compete abroad: Kosgoro

Local workers can compete abroad: Kosgoro

JAKARTA (JP): Kosgoro, an influential cooperative affiliated
to the ruling Golkar party, says Indonesian workers have the
skills to fight for employment abroad.

Setya Novanto, who heads Kosgoro's business division, said he
believes Indonesian workers can match foreign competitors in
terms of quality.

"The top priority should go to provision of vocational skills
to our workers needed by importing countries," he said. "We can
no longer afford to send cheap, unskilled labor because some
countries can now offer even cheaper workers."

President Soeharto said on Tuesday that Indonesia should be
encouraged to export skilled workers to phase out the sending of
untrained laborers abroad, in order to boost Indonesia's image as
a free country.

Setya said vacancies for skilled workers are still wide open
in both "traditional markets" like Malaysia, Singapore, Hong
Kong, Taiwan and the Middle East and in new ones, such as Europe,
the United States, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Africa.

The government has projected that an estimated 2.5 million
people will be working overseas in the year 2000, contributing
about US$12.5 billion in foreign exchange a year.

Currently, about 800,000 Indonesians, mostly unskilled, work
legally overseas, notably in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. Those
working illegally are believed to number several hundred
thousand. (imn)