Migrant workers big money for the state

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian migrant workers have rewarded the government's failure to protect and defend them with a whopping US$1 billion in foreign exchange earnings this year alone.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea estimated on Friday the contribution from the neglected workers to state revenue would reach $5.2 billion in 2003 due to the increasing number of workers seeking employment abroad.

The latest data issued by the ministry revealed there were 465,485 workers, mostly unskilled, who were placed overseas, more than 37 percent up from the 2001 figure of 338,992.

Since 2000, the migrant workers have brought $3.2 billion in foreign exchange into the country.

The actual number of migrant workers is believed to be much higher as hundreds of thousands more work overseas without work permits.

Considering the increase in the state revenue from migrant workers, Jacob pledged to provide them with maximum protection, mainly through the bill on migrant workers' protection and placement.

The bill, sponsored by the House of Representatives, is listed as one of bills to be deliberated.

"Once we endorse the bill we will curb the problems currently facing our migrant workers," Jacob said.

Jacob issued a ministerial decree earlier this year which places the burden on labor recruitment companies to protect migrant workers while they are employed overseas. The obligation will be shifted to the government when the workers arrive home.

The decree, however, has not been effective due to the absence of supporting regulations and operational guidelines.

Indonesian migrant workers have faced abuse and extortion, particularly those who work abroad illegally. There are many reports of Indonesian women who work as domestic helpers overseas who are beaten or raped by their employers.

A human tragedy involving the country's migrant workers took place this year when some 300,000 Illegal Indonesians workers were expelled from Malaysia following a new immigration act which came to effect on Aug. 1. Most of the workers, along with their families, streamed into the tiny island of Nunukan in East Kalimantan near the Malaysian border.

Dozens of the returning migrants died from various diseases on their way and upon arrival at Nunukan. The government were slow to assist the struggling workers and their families.

Critics said the tragedy could have been avoided had the government taken action earlier as Malaysia had given advance warning of the tough immigration law long before it took effect.

Malaysia has absorbed most of Indonesia's migrant workers, who are mainly employed in construction projects and plantations.

The Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration recorded that as of November 232,614 Indonesian migrant workers were employed in the Middle East and Africa, an almost 92 percent increase compared to last year.

Saudi Arabia remains the most favored destination, followed by Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Jordan. In Saudi Arabia alone there are over 206,000 Indonesians working there,

An increase was also seen in the number of migrant workers leaving to work in the Asia Pacific region from 217,555 to 232,770 people and to Europe from 29 to 68.