Remittances from migrant workers up
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia's remittances from migrant workers employed overseas significantly increased in the first quarter of this year due to the reemergence of employment opportunities in a number of countries.
According to Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration figures, the value of the remittances soared by almost 450 percent to US$425.2 million sent home by almost 294,000 workers between January and April, up from $75.6 million during the same period last year.
Association of Indonesian Labor Exporters (Himsataki) chairman Yunus Yamani said the recent increase in labor exports and remittances was the result of the reopening of the Middle Eastern and Taiwanese markets to Indonesian workers following the end of the Iraq crisis and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak.
"We should not rest on our laurels, however, and assume that all the problems have been solved," he told The Jakarta Post here on Tuesday.
Indonesia suspended the sending of workers to the Middle East early last year because of the U.S-led attack on Iraq, and to Hong Kong and Taiwan because of the outbreak of SARS in a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Jordan are the four Middle Eastern countries employing the largest number of Indonesian workers in the informal sector.
Yunus said that workers' remittances could increase twofold or threefold if the government had the political will to repeal a number of controversial regulations and improve the skills of overseas-bound migrant workers.
"The officials from the relevant agencies and institutions should sit down together to review all the rulings that have discouraged labor exports, and provide incentives for labor exporting companies (PJTKI) which comply with labor export procedures," he said.
He criticized the government for issuing numerous overlapping regulations, which only served to confuse labor exporters.
He added that almost 50 percent of the country's more than 460 labor exporters had suspended their operations because of the unfavorable climate resulting from the conflicting regulations and the absence of labor export quotas.
Mardjono, director of labor protection at the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, said the government would intensify training programs to improve the competitiveness and bargaining power of workers.
"Most workers run into trouble abroad because of their lack of skills, and this has resulted in them becoming more vulnerable. Our workers should be independent and be capable of providing the skills required by employers," he said.
Former manpower minister Bomer Pasaribu called for sweeping reform of the migrant labor sector.
"The government should set up an agency to recruit and train all prospective migrant workers. This would ensure that the workers learn the skills they need before their departure," he said.
According to Bomer, the abuses perpetrated against Indonesian migrant workers are mostly caused by their lack of skills and education.