New fees on foreign employers criticized
JAKARTA (JP): A new fee on overseas employers hiring Indonesian workers would only harm workers instead of protecting them, activists said yesterday.
Salma Safitri of the Jakarta-based Solidaritas Perempuan (Women's Solidarity for Human Rights Association) said instead of imposing new fees, the billions of rupiah already paid to the Indonesian Association of Labor Suppliers (Apjati) should be put to good use.
Salma was responding to the Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief's comment Tuesday that overseas employers would soon have to pay US$100 per year during a contract with an Indonesian worker.
The fee paid to the state, based on a presidential decree, will cover training, legal protection and insurance.
"Extra fees on employers and labor suppliers to be paid to the association have always been said to cover protection, but hardly anything has come of it," Salma said.
Operations director of labor supplier PT Dharmakarya Rahardja, Dewa Sanjaya, said suppliers have paid "protection" fees to the new Human Resources Foundation headed by Minister Latief since April 13.
"We have to pay at least $40 for every worker we send, but we don't know our rights entailed to the fees," Dewa said.
Dharmakarya has sent 3,000 workers to Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam since it was set up in 1995, he said.
He said labor suppliers have no idea whether workers who return due to accidents, for example, would gain compensation.
He said other labor suppliers are still debating the new fees.
"We want to be clear on both our rights and obligations," Dewa said.
Labor suppliers are subjected to several fees and red tape and have to be aware of changes in labor policies both in Indonesia and in receiving countries, he said.
Dewa said a part of workers' wages for the first six months are given to the supplier because they are not allowed to draw levies from workers.
Salma said, "Often when workers complain of work conditions, employers and suppliers get very angry, saying they have paid a lot for the workers."
Dewa and the association (Solidaritas Perempuan) members said separately the association has not been transparent on the use of fees.
Dewa said PT Dharmakarya paid Rp 5 million in entrance fees to the association, which has more than 180 members.
Wahyu, another Solidaritas member, said the House of Representatives should request a formal explanation from the association.
"It seems regulating migrant workers focuses more on garnering levies than their protection," he said.
The association members said workers were frequently sent home without any effort from the association to mediate in labor conflicts, indicating protection fees were not used appropriately.
Workers reporting rape, for instance, would only be said to have shamed the country, Salma said.
From 1994 to 1999 the Ministry aimed to send 1,250,000 workers abroad. In fiscal year 1998/1999, Indonesia expects $871 million from remittances of Indonesians working in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and other countries. (anr)