'Migrant workers in vicious circle'

'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)