'Migrant workers in vicious circle'

JAKARTA (JP): A woman activist said here yesterday that Indonesian women working overseas have been "dancing in the vicious circle of exploitation, oppression and marginalization" of the migrant workers industry.

Tati Krisnawaty of Women's Solidarity, a non-government organization dealing with issues related to women workers, said the workers are burdened by poverty and a patriarchal society which belittles women.

Recommendations from experts on ways to solve the plight of migrant women workers have so far only scraped the surface of the problem and failed to address fundamental injustices in economic development, she said.

Neglected elements, according to Tati, are basic human needs which means understanding that all humans yearn for their families and have sexual desires.

Addressing an International Labor Organization (ILO) and Women's Solidarity seminar, Tati painted a gloomy picture of abuses experienced migrant women workers.

"They are very vulnerable to rape and other abuses. There have also been frequent reports of 'accidental' deaths said to be related to their profession," Tati said.

Countless unexplained deaths have occurred over the years. Poor legal protection for migrant workers exacerbates the problem, she said.

Riwanto Tirtosudarmo of the University of Indonesia's School of Economics agreed. "The poor legal protection available for migrant workers has been exploited by scalpers, many of whom have strong political backing," he said.

The situation has worsened to the extent that exporting workers has turned into human trading.

Many women have had to trade their bodies for a job, legal or illegal, she said.

"Even confronted with such facts, the authorities sometimes refuse to acknowledge that migrant workers are forced to leave home to seek the opportunities which are lacking in the current national development," she said.

The International Labor Organization estimated in 1994 there were about 30 million legal workers and some 80 million illegal migrant workers all over the world.

The Ministry of Manpower has planned to send a total of 1.25 million workers abroad by the end of sixth Five-year Developmental Plan (Pelita) in 1999.

Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief said exporting migrant workers supports the country's income by reducing local unemployment.

"We need to, therefore, improve our workers' professionalism," he said in a written address delivered by his staff member, Jacky Iskandarsyah. (14)