RI, Saudi Arabia review labor agreement

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Local labor groups have agreed with their Saudi Arabian counterpart to review labor regulations to provide stronger, more transparent legal protection for Indonesian workers employed in the kingdom.

The Association of Indonesian Employment Agencies (IDEA) head Adrie Nelwan said here on Monday local groups and Saudi agency Sanarcom had agreed all Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia would be required to get new passports and labor contracts co-signed by their employers and agencies both countries.

"The new labor passports will be effective for three years and if workers extend their contracts they must apply for new passports from the immigration office in Indonesia or the Indonesian Embassy in Saudi Arabia. This aims at preventing the abuse of old passports by labor exporters for different workers," he said.

Both countries would also design a new labor contract, which would regulate workers' salaries and conditions and set out labor dispute settlement procedures.

Indonesian labor exporters and their Saudi Arabian counterparts would also be required to set up an on-line system to control labor exports to that country.

The review was carried out after a bilateral meeting between Manpower and Transmigration Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea and Saudi Arabia's home affairs minister Ali Abdullah Namlah in Riyadh last week.

The ministers agreed the Saudi Arabian government would take action against Saudi employers who mistreated Indonesian workers, while Indonesia would supply only skilled workers who were able to communicate in Arabic.

Last year, dozens of people were killed and dozens of others seriously injured after being tortured by Saudi Arabian employers. Many of the workers were not paid, while others had "compensation money" stripped off them by corrupt Indonesian customs officials or airport con artists when they returned home. Their plight damaged the two countries' bilateral ties.

Adrie said the local labor exporter associations would meet soon to set the skills workers should have before they went overseas.

"According to our concept, workers will be better protected if they are better prepared. They must have the skills to do their job to help avoid any complaints or disputes. Workers should know what to do when trouble develops in their workplace or they are involved in disputes with their employers. Besides the regulations, labor exporters will be obligated to provide legal and insurance protection for workers they send abroad," he said.

Labor exporters had also agreed to hire professional lawyers to provide legal advocacy for any troubled workers in Saudi Arabia and commercial insurance schemes to cover all risks they would take during their employment.

Adrie said it had been difficult to provide legal protection for Indonesian workers employed as housemaids because they were treated as part of their employers' family and, therefore, they were under jurisdiction of the Saudi Arabian home ministry.

"The problem has become even more complicated because many workers have also used pilgrimage passports to work in Saudi Arabia (illegally) and this has meant there has been an oversupply in the labor market," he said. Most workers working illegally in Saudi Arabia were abused by their labor agencies and employers, he said.

According to Saudi Arabian government data, the number of Indonesians officially working in the country is 400,000. However, the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh estimates the actual total is more like 700,000.

Indonesian Ambassador in Riyadh Maftuh Basyuni said about 16,000 Indonesians had used pilgrimage passports during the past two months to work in the country.

The other labor groups to meet with the IDEA are the Indonesian Labor exporters Association (Himsaki) and the Labor Supplying Companies Association (Apjati).