Special TKI airport lounge a secretive hub of chaos
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The situation at the special lounge for overseas migrant workers (TKIs) at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, Tangerang, remains chaotic and closed to the public, raising concerns about the extent of workers' protection.
Hundreds of TKIs were escorted to Terminal II, the international terminal, upon their arrival on Thursday and spent between five to 10 hours to tend to tedious procedures at the lounge before they were able to continue their journey home to various provinces.
The congregation of hundreds of minibuses, drivers, transportation conductors, pickpockets and villagers gave the impression that the special lounge was a bus terminal, rather than a facility at an international airport.
Villagers from Cianjur regency, West Java, who came to fetch their relatives just returned from the Middle East, where they worked as housemaids, complained about the chaotic situation at the lounge.
Many repatriated TKIs also questioned the complicated exit procedure, the legality of numerous fees imposed on them by various agencies and the general discomfort of the lounge.
Security, airport and manpower authorities seemed intent on concealing the condition and alleged extortion, and denied access to Kompas, Bisnis Indonesia and The Jakarta Post reporters who had arrived to cover the situation at the lounge.
The special TKI lounge has been in the spotlight since reports broke on the rampant extortion of workers passing through the airport on their way home to Java, West Nusa Tenggara and other provinces.
Many workers have said they were charged under-the-table immigration and customs fees, and claimed they received unofficial conversion rates when changing foreign currency into rupiah.
The alleged extortion at the airport is part of the series of maltreatment TKIs undergo from their departure and throughout their employment overseas, until their return home.
Almost 500 migrant workers return daily through Soekarno- Hatta, and an average 10 percent of these have been sent home after experiencing problems of varying degrees with their overseas employers.
According to Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration data, 100,638 workers returned from overseas through the international airport from Jan. 1 to April 30, of which 14 percent, or more than 13,000, had been sent back home because of disputes and other troubles with their employers.
Labor exporters confirmed the uncontrolled situation at the special lounge and have made increasing calls to the government and airport authorities to treat the workers as they would other international passengers.
"To stop the extortion, workers should receive treatment on a par with other passengers coming through Terminal II, and the government should impose harsh sanctions against civil servants and government workers extorting them," chairman of the Association of Indonesian Labor Export Companies (Himsataki) Yunus Yamani said.
The government's plan to move the special lounge from Cengkareng to Ciracas, East Jakarta, has also sparked strong opposition from labor exporters and non-governmental organizations, which said such a move would worsen the situation, as it would allow for the extortion to continue, hidden from public view.
Despite the criticism and increasing opposition, manpower minister Jacob Nuwa Wea has insisted on going ahead with the plan, and has said the new lounge would open before the new government was installed in October.
It is also suspected that the ministry has not been transparent in regards the establishment of the special TKI lounge, with labor exporters and a ministry official alleging a mark-up in the Rp 20 billion (US$2.1 million) project.