Ministry urged to improve manpower system

Ministry urged to improve manpower system

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government should not lift the prohibition on sending semi-
skilled workers (TKIs) overseas as long as the manpower ministry
is unable to improve its poor delivery system, says a labor
export service association.

"If the government is not ready to improve the current
procedure, any decision to send TKIs abroad would be pointless as
the system remains poor," the head of the Association of
Indonesian Labor Export Suppliers (Himsataki) Yunus Moh. Yamani
was quoted by Antara as saying here on Saturday.

According to him, in order to improve the system for sending
workers abroad, the government must revamp the Workers Placement
Service Office (BPPTKI) and manpower offices at the regency
level.

The government should also dissolve the special unit at the
immigration office, which issues special passports to overseas
workers, he said.

"The passport should be general, so that workers could work
around the world freely. The passport should also be issued where
workers hold a citizenship card," Yunus said.

Yunus also urged the government to determine standards for the
Ministry of Manpower's Workers Skills Training Center (BLKLN), to
improve its curriculum and to establish an independent monitoring
and evaluating team on TKIs.

The Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration must also
seriously implement Decree No. 104A/2002 that obliges labor
exporters to renew their master agreement with their overseas
partner, according to Yunus.

It must also ensure that labor exporters protect their workers
by providing lawyers in overseas countries where the TKIs work,
Yunus said.

"Without any improvement in these aspects, it would be better
for the government not to send workers abroad to be employed in
the informal sector," he said.

Manpower minister Jacob Nuwa Wea has discontinued the sending
of overseas workers that work in the informal sector such as
domestic helpers, baby sitters and care givers for the elderly
until the middle of March to give labor export companies the
opportunity to improve their performance.

The prohibition was necessary as part of efforts to improve
workers skills, said Jacob.

The sending of skilled workers overseas is still permitted.

However, Jacob told reporters recently that his ministry would
permit the sending of unskilled workers abroad in mid-March.

Meanwhile, manpower analyst Fachri Thaharuddin said the
Ministry of Manpower should focus on BLKLN accreditation and the
establishment of an independent assessment team.

"Accreditation is necessary to improve the quality of BLKLN,
while the independent assessment team will select workers to be
sent overseas," he said.

Yunus also questioned the effectiveness of the suspension of
the sending of unskilled workers abroad, saying that some BPPTKIs
continued to issue passport recommendations to labor export
companies.

"So what is the suspension for actually, if the government
office violates it," he said.