Special TKI airport lounge a secretive hub of chaos
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.