RI workers go overseas in search for high salaries

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Working as cheap labor in a regional hospital in the West Sumatra town of Batu Sangkar, Sepli Rosa never dreamed she would one day meet with a minister in Jakarta and work for a high salary overseas.

But she achieved that on Friday.

The 26-year-old woman, who was employed as a nurse at the regional general hospital in the town at a monthly salary of Rp 200,000 (US$25) for two years until 2002, felt joyful when she and 152 other nurses heard an advisory address from Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea at a farewell ceremony here on Friday.

"Recalling my hard life in my hometown, my parents and other relatives, I was surprised to hear the minister's advice to work hard to make money as well as to help build Indonesia's good image overseas. We shall be working as nurses in general hospitals in Kuwait," she said after the gathering.

She imagined that she would be bringing at least Rp 250 million back home after working for two years in that small, but rich country.

Halimah binti Muhni, a 26-year-old nurse from Medan, capital of North Sumatra, said she was interested in working overseas because she would be paid well and obtain work experience she could not get at home.

"Besides enjoying good salaries, we shall be working with colleagues from other countries in luxurious hospitals with modern medical technology.

"Based on the labor contract we have already signed, we shall be paid US$1,200 to $1,500 per month, and have a dormitory, three meals per day, a uniform and transportation facilities, and will receive annual bonuses, depending on our work experience and skills," she said.

Halimah graduated from a nursing academy with an S-1 diploma, and was previously employed as a nurse at a private hospital in Medan at a gross monthly salary of Rp 600,000.

According to the labor contract, the nurses will be employed for two years and the contract can be extended as long as they wish to live in Kuwait. They also have a right to 40 working days of leave per year. During their employment, they are covered by a commercial insurance scheme, to provide them certainty and protection, should they get into trouble. Their transportation costs in both directions are covered by the Kuwaiti government.

Saleh Alwaini, president of PT Binawan Inti Utama, which supplies workers to Kuwait, hailed the migrant skilled workers, saying it was the fifth batch of nurses exported to Kuwait.

Seen from a business point of view, the sending of skilled workers for employment in the formal sector secures greater advantages than for those in the informal sector.

"The nurses will face fewer risks than workers employed as domestic helpers, because besides being employed in groups, they will be more capable of protecting themselves in dealing with trouble, and industrial relations matters have already been covered in their contracts," he said, adding that Binawan had supplied a total of 770 workers to Kuwait over the last three years.

The nurses were obliged to pay about $150 per month from their monthly salary for a year to cover the cost of their six-month predeparture training. "Our company spends around Rp 10 million per person to finance their training for six months at many hospitals in Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung and other cities in Indonesia," he said.

Saleh acknowledged that it was difficult to find nurses and other workers with skills to international standards, but it was more profitable to export professionals.

"The 153 workers are part of more than 400 nurses who applied for overseas employment, most of whom did not pass a number of tests carried out directly by a Kuwaiti team. It is somewhat ironic that the nurses, who had graduated from nursing academies and universities, were unable to pass the tests, although they have already had two years of work experience and had undergone six months of special training," he said.

Of more than one million Indonesians workers employed overseas, only 12 percent, or 120,000, have expertise of any kind.

Saleh said that his company had enhanced its cooperation with a number of hospitals at home to provide skilled health workers to meet increasing overseas demands.

Binawan is training hundreds of other nurses to be sent to the Middle East and Europe, especially Germany and the Netherlands.

Minister Jacob acknowledged that many Middle Eastern and European countries required more medical workers from Indonesia, but the increased demand could not be met because of the low quality of human resources in the country.

"We have a great number of job opportunities for skilled workers in the finance, IT, computer technology and health sectors overseas but cannot fill them because of the low quality of the workforce and of education in the country," he said.

He called on relevant agencies and education bodies in the country to play a more active role in improving the quality of education and for their graduates to make the workforce more competitive in the foreign labor market.

"We can no longer move in slow motion because in entering the global economy, Indonesia must be able to compete with ASEAN countries in liberalizing the labor market in accordance with the ASEAN free trade area (AFTA) this year and with GATT-based world trade with other densely populated countries, such as China and India, in the global market," he said.

Indonesian workers had to go global to improve their social welfare, improve the country's foreign exchange earned from workers overseas and help cope with the serious unemployment problem at home, he said.