RI to push Malaysia on worker protection
RI to push Malaysia on worker protection
Dewi Santoso and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta
Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea left on
Wednesday for Malaysia to push for the signing of a bilateral
agreement on protection of Indonesians working in the informal
sector in that country.
Indonesia and Malaysia signed earlier this month a memorandum
of understanding (MOU) on Indonesian migrant workers employed in
the formal sector. The MOU, which will come into effect on Aug.
10 this year, sets out the requirements with respect to
recruitment, salary and terms of contracts for Indonesian migrant
workers wishing to work in the neighboring country.
Nuwa Wea said he would meet Malaysian Minister of Human
Resources Fong Chan Oan on Thursday to discuss the matter.
During his visit, the minister will also meet Nirmala Bonat,
an Indonesian domestic helper who was violently beaten, burned
and scalded with boiling water by her Malaysian employer. The
employer is now standing trial for the abuse, which could send
her to prison for up to 80 years.
Nirmala, a native of East Nusa Tenggara, went to Malaysia last
September.
Nirmala's harrowing tale of abuse came as a shock to
Malaysians, including Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who
condemned the abuse.
The abuse has also drawn the attention of President Megawati
Soekarnoputri, who invited Nirmala's mother, Martha Toni, to her
private residence in Kebagusan, South Jakarta, on Wednesday.
Later in the day Martha flew to Malaysia to join her daughter.
Nuwa Wea said that he would also visit Nirmala to "give her
the support that she desperately needs".
As for compensation for Nirmala, Nuwa Wea said that he would
discuss the matter with Fong.
Nirmala is not the first Indonesian to suffer from abusive
treatment. Many reports of abuse against Indonesian migrant
workers employed as domestic helpers, including rape, have
surfaced.
The numerous cases of abuse have prompted widespread demands
for legislation to protect migrant workers, particularly those in
the informal sector.
Nuwa Wea said that his ministry was currently drafting a bill
on migrant worker protection.
"Hopefully, drafting will be completed soon," he said.
Since his term in office, the country has endorsed laws No.
21/2000 on labor unions, No. 13/2003 on manpower and No. 2/2004
on settlement of industrial disputes. The latter will come into
effect on Jan. 15, 2005.
While receiving Martha, the President called on the public not
to rush to blame the government for any abuse involving
Indonesian migrant workers, saying the government had done a lot
to prevent them from being maltreated.
Megawati said she learned from Martha that her 19-year-old
daughter sought work in Malaysia without her mother's knowledge.
"According to the law, persons who are still in their parents'
care need their consent to work overseas," Megawati said.