S. Korea labor market open to skilled RI workers only

S. Korea labor market open to skilled RI workers only

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

To follow up the memorandum of understanding (MOU) Indonesia and
South Korea signed on July 13, the two governments have agreed on
the repatriation of around 7,000 Indonesian illegal workers now
employed in the East Asian country.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said,
after receiving his South Korean counterpart Kim Dae Huan on
Monday, that in the absence of illegal migrant workers, only
skilled Indonesian workers would be sent to South Korea for jobs
in the formal sector.

As a consequence, they would be fully protected under South
Korean labor law.

"We are of the same view that all Indonesian workers working
illegally in South Korea will be deported and required to obtain
proper documentation before applying for jobs in the formal
sector. It will allow South Korea to impose taxes on them and the
Indonesian workers to demand payment in line with the standard
wage level there," he said.

The two ministers agreed that the deportation should be
confirmed immediately, but they did not set a timeframe.

Indonesia and Malaysia had previously agreed on mass
deportation of around 800,000 Indonesian illegal migrant workers
early next year.

According to South Korean labor law, foreign workers must
speak Korean, apart from possessing a skill.

The MOU signed in South Korea last month says the labor
recruitment will be carried out by the two governments, instead
of by private agencies. It also reduces the recruitment fee to
below Rp 10 million (US$1,086) from the current Rp 30 million.

The MOU has raised opposition from many labor exporters who
were not involved in the drafting of the agreement.

Nuwa Wea said he intentionally ignored the companies due to
their failure to stop illegal workers being supplied to South
Korea.

Separately, Director General for Labor Placement Overseas at
the manpower ministry I Gusti Made Arka said South Korea was in
need of 17,000 foreign workers, who would likely come from
Indonesia, Mongolia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

"South Korea has yet to set a quota for Indonesia but they are
determined to recruit as many Indonesian workers as possible to
help us cope with our unemployment problem," he said.

Monthly salaries of foreign workers employed in the formal
sector in South Korea range from Rp 3 million to Rp 7 million,
depending on placement and skills.

Kim paid the courtesy call on Nuwa Wea while a demonstration
was staged by over 150 workers from PT Sarasa Nugraha, a South
Korean investment textile company in Tangerang, Banten.

Both Kim and his aides declined to comment on labor disputes
involving South Korean investors here.

The Central Committee for the Settlement of Industrial
Disputes (P4P) decided last week to require the management of PT
Sarasa Nugraha to pay the workers' monthly salaries from January
to July of this year, and severance pay in accordance with
Article 56 of Law No. 13/2003 on labor.

Nuwa Wea has expressed disappointment at the firm's move to
take the matter to the State Administrative Court, instead of
complying with the P4P ruling, saying it was an attempt to buy
time and was fruitless, as the decision was final in accordance
with the law.