Sending laborers to S. Arabia halted
Sending laborers to S. Arabia halted
JAKARTA (JP): The government has imposed a seven-week
moratorium on labor export to Saudia Arabia to prompt Riyadh to
sign an agreement on the protection of Indonesian workers there.
The moratorium is effective from July 9 through Aug. 26.
Saudi Arabia is one of the primary destinations of Indonesians
seeking employment overseas with an estimated 370,000 Indonesians
are working in the Middle Eastern country compared to some 33,000
in the United Arab Emirates and 260,000 in Malaysia in 2000.
Despite the large number of Indonesian workers in Saudi
Arabia, legal protection of their rights remains neglected.
In the last few years, there have been numerous reports of
mistreatment of Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia while there is
little legal recourse for the workers to pursue.
Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Al-Hilal Hamdi said
Jakarta would use the moratorium to demand its Saudi Arabian
counterparts sign a memorandum of understanding to better protect
Indonesian workers there.
It is unclear whether the Saudi government will respond to
Jakarta's demands on this matter. Al-Hilal admitted that talks
had not begun.
Al-Hilal cited as an example the "insurance" Indonesian
workers in Hong Kong are given as employers have to deposit a
certain amount of money with the labor export agency before
employing a migrant worker.
When asked, Al-Hilal could not say if the moratorium would be
extended if no agreement was reached by Aug. 26.
Al-Hilal also promised better protection for Indonesian
workers abroad saying similar moratoriums would be imposed on
other countries where large numbers of Indonesians are employed.
"The moratorium will not only be imposed on Saudi Arabia, it
will also be imposed on other countries, but at different times,"
he said without naming the countries.
He said the moratorium on the other countries would not be
imposed simultaneously as the level of "severity" of each country
was different.
The government's latest move is similar to the Philippines
government's step to stop labor export to Saudi Arabia for three
years until an agreement is reached.
According to government statistics, there are an estimated
890,000 Indonesians working abroad with Saudi Arabia, Malaysia,
Hong Kong and Taiwan being primary destinations.
To better foster cooperation in the protection of Indonesian
migrant workers, five Indonesian ministries on Wednesday signed a
joint agreement to establish a special team to resolve the issue
of placing and protecting migrant workers.
The cross-departmental cooperation, which includes the
ministries of manpower and transmigration, home affairs, foreign
affairs, justice and human rights, and finance, will formulate
policies regarding migrant workers.
The team will be led by the director general of training and
placement of migrant workers abroad of the Ministry of Manpower
and Transmigration, aided by labor agencies, non-governmental
organizations and workers' unions. (bby)