OIC members urged to protect workers
JAKARTA (JP): Women activists are calling on Azzedine Laraki, the newly elected secretary-general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), to insert into the agenda of member countries the protection of migrant workers.
A peaceful demonstration was being organized to draw the attention of the OIC meeting, which concludes here today, toward the plight of migrant workers in many of the organization's 53 member states.
Tati Krisnawaty of the Solidaritas Perempuan (Women's Solidarity), a non-governmental organization for women issues, said the conference should not only discuss "big, state issues" but also problems faced by the common people.
She told The Jakarta Post yesterday that many OIC members either send or receive migrant workers, especially women, many of whom are employed in the domestic sphere which often lies beyond the reach of legal protection.
"We are demanding stronger protection for woman migrant workers," Tati said.
Laraki, former Moroccan prime minister, was unanimously elected as the new secretary-general yesterday.
Morocco, according to Tati, has ratified the International Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers' Rights and Members of their Families. "This fact should enable Laraki to push the issue of better treatment for workers onto the agenda of OIC members," she said.
On Tuesday, the Solidaritas Perempuan staged a protest at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over women workers who died abroad, calling on the government to better protect Indonesian workers overseas.
The Ministry of Manpower reportedly responded to the protest by questioning the labor export companies responsible for the sending of the 10 women workers who died of various unverified causes in Saudi Arabia.
"Doesn't it sound odd that the workers reportedly died of heart problems while the health tests performed by the labor export companies mentioned nothing of heart problems?" Tati asked.
The cruel treatment of women migrant workers is said to be most rampant in Arabian countries. Statistics last year stated that at least 1,500 Indonesian woman workers in Saudi Arabia were raped and abused.
Following harsh public criticism over the poor treatment Indonesian workers faced overseas, the government has started to phase out the sending of unskilled workers and instead increase the export of skilled workers. It has also promised to improve legal protection for those working abroad.
The official record for Indonesian women working overseas is 700,000, most of whom are employed as domestic helpers and know little of their legal rights.
Tati said the abuse of women migrant workers would never be solved if the government's main concern was how to meet the foreign exchange target and reduce unemployment.
Tati suggested the government establish crisis centers, which would have greater possibility of reaching migrant workers compared to centers currently run by non-governmental organizations or communities of migrant workers.
There are currently three crisis centers in Indonesia, offering support for women who have been raped. Another is soon to be established to support victims of domestic violence. (06)