Minimum wages set for Mideast domestics

Minimum wages set for Mideast domestics

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Manpower announced on Wednesday
minimum wages for Indonesian workers employed as domestic helpers
abroad.

The regulation, which follows an agreement between the
Association of Indonesian Labor Exporters and its foreign
partners, took effect on March 1.

The monthly minimum wages were set at 600 real (Rp 1,350,000)
in Saudi Arabia, 600 dirham (Rp 1,350,000) in the United Arab
Emirates, 50 dirham (Rp 1,326,000) in Kuwait, 60 dirham (Rp
1,541,000) in Bahrain, 600 real (Rp 1,350,000) in Qatar and 60
dirham (1,392,000) in Oman.

In Hong Kong and Singapore the minimum salaries were set at
HK$$3,670 (Rp 3.3 million) and S$230 (Rp 1.1 million)
respectively.

Director General for Labor Placement Din Syamsudin said the
regulation was aimed at improving the welfare of Indonesian
workers overseas and curbing the rampant exploitation of workers.

"Women workers employed as domestic helpers abroad should not
sign labor contracts with their employers if they are paid less
than the minimum salary set by the government," Din said in a
press conference at the manpower ministry.

Din said that each worker sent to the Middle East was subject
to a Rp 400,000 recruitment fee.

He said the government proposed a minimum monthly salary for
Indonesian workers in Hong Kong based on local standard. He
specifically called on China's special territory to take strict
measures against errant employers.

Din said 90 percent of some 3,200 Indonesian workers employed
as domestic helpers in Hong Kong were paid between HK$2,000 and
$3,000 per month, lower than the official minimum wage.

The government also charges Hong Kong-based workers a $18,000
recruitment fee, which the workers are allowed to pay in
installments over a 10-month period.

Singapore-bound workers are also charged a placement fee
usually equal to three-months salary.

Din also said four labor export companies were temporarily
barred from sending workers abroad and another 17 companies were
reprimanded for various administrative violations.

PT Nur Afalah, PT Intra Caraka, PT Menara Terasbahari and PT
Tifar Admanco were barred from exporting workers from January to
March for falsifying workers' identities, he said.

Din said the companies warned included PT Nurbhakti Langgeng,
PT Sapta Saguna and PT Bhayangkara. (rms)