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)