RI faces hurdles in filling 6 million jobs in S. Arabia
RI faces hurdles in filling 6 million jobs in S. Arabia
JAKARTA (JP): Saudi Arabia has some 6 million job openings in
the formal sector but many Indonesian labor export companies are
unable to send skilled workers.
Waleed A. al Swaidan, chairman of the committee of worker
placement agencies in Saudi Arabia, said here that most openings
were for computer experts, nurses, and skilled construction and
factory workers.
If Indonesia failed to meet the demand, Saudi Arabia could
turn to other countries, Waleed said.
There are 6 million foreign workers from 120 countries in
Saudi Arabia.
Indonesian labor export companies were unable to supply enough
workers who could meet certain educational and training
standards, including proficiency in English, he said.
Waleed is here at the invitation of Minister of Manpower Abdul
Latief, who presented him with a citation for his role in the
efforts to free from the death penalty Nasiroh Karmudin, an
Indonesian worker convicted in Saudi Arabia for murder.
The Indonesian Association of Labor Export Companies (Apjati)
also received an award.
Indonesia began sending workers overseas to generate more
foreign exchange in the early 1980s.
The Ministry of Manpower has said that as of March this year,
1.95 million Indonesians were working abroad, earning an average
monthly wage of US$300.
The government also said that migrant workers had contributed
millions of dollars in foreign exchange to Indonesia over the
last three years of the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan.
In Saudi Arabia, Indonesian bank tellers and nurses can make
about Saudi Real 2,500 ($583) a month, while domestic workers --
who make up the bulk of Indonesian workers there -- and drivers
make about SR600.
Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians work illegally there.
It is usually the illegal, menial workers that fare badly
because they are not protected by the law.
Antara reported Friday that many Indonesian labor export
companies had conceded it was difficult to find skilled workers
for the formal sectors in Saudi and other countries.
Poor English is one of the main problems.
Waleed said: "We're following the market mechanism. If one
country fails to meet labor demands in one sector, the employment
placement agency in Saudi Arabia will automatically look to
another country."
Other countries that send workers to Saudi Arabia include
Bangladesh, Egypt and India.
Waleed claimed that his government provided protection to
migrant workers, saying: "We are applying a religious law before
which every human being is treated equal, whether he is
indigenous or foreigner."
He said the problem was that Indonesian workers often did not
know where to seek help to settle disputes with their employers.
Separately, the head of Apjati's Saudi Arabia Division, Farid
Nahdi, said his organization would cooperate with the Indonesian
consul in Jeddah to take legal action against employers who
refused to pay Indonesian workers. (aan)