S'pore a 'killing field' RI migrant workers: Study

S'pore a 'killing field' RI migrant workers: Study

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While many Indonesian businessmen wanted for graft find refuge in
Singapore, the city state is a place of grief for some Indonesian
migrant workers, a study says.

The study, which was conducted recently by the Institute for
Ecosoc Rights both in Indonesia and Singapore, was inspired by
repeated deaths of Indonesian migrant domestic workers in the
neighboring country over the last five years.

The institute said that the high mortality rate had a lot to
do with poor working conditions.

"Many workers bring home Singaporean dollars as capital to
start small businesses, but many others return in coffins or are
sent to jail for acts against their employers," the institute
says.

From 1999 through December 2004, a total of 114 Indonesian
domestic workers in Singapore died for various reasons.

There are almost 70,000 registered Indonesian migrants workers
in the neighboring country, 53 percent of whom are domestic
helpers, mostly women.

"For big-time Indonesian criminals, Singapore is a safe place
to hide since the two countries have not signed an extradition
treaty. But for many Indonesian domestic workers who live in
poverty at home, the city state is like a killing field as they
are not only overexploited but physically abused and trapped in
forced labor," Sri Palupi, who coordinated the study, said over
the weekend.

While Singapore restricts the entry of immigrants, Palupi said
the country had failed to set minimum base standards for the
employment of domestic workers, most of whom are not protected by
Singaporean law due to their working in the informal, or
household, sector.

The study was conducted between January and April this year in
Singapore and in the regencies of Tulangbawang (Lampung), Cilacap
(Central Java), Banyumas (Central Java) and Jember (East Java).
It involved 120 former domestic workers employed in Singapore and
80 migrant workers who found themselves in trouble in Singapore
as respondents.

Palupi said the study found the migrants were burdened by long
working hours, heavy workloads and a lack of time off.

"Most respondents said they worked between 12 hours and 20
hours a day, and had no day off. They mostly do washing, cooking,
baby-sitting and taking care of the elderly," she said.

Some respondents said they received inadequate meals and slept
only around five hours a day.

They complained about living in their employers' small flats.
This lead to physical abuse by their employers. Many workers were
also dismissed without payment, Palupi said.

She added that the researchers were skeptical about reports
that some Indonesian migrant workers died of serious illnesses or
committed suicide, because they had undergone medical checks
before departure and were not familiar with a suicidal culture.

The study also found that some domestic workers found
themselves trapped in the equivalent of forced labor as their
monthly salaries were cut for the first seven months of their
employment to pay recruitment fees to their sponsors, and the
fact that they were not allowed to go out or to make contact with
outsiders, including relatives and the Indonesian Embassy.

Separately, Wahyu Susilo, coordinator of the Migrant Care
organization in Jakarta, likened the employment of Indonesian
domestic workers to slavery, and placed the blame for this
squarely on the Indonesian government.

"This slavery continues as the government lacks a strong
bargaining position vis-a-vis foreign countries to make them
protect our migrant workers. We cannot expect the workers
themselves to be able to protect and defend themselves as they
are uneducated, unskilled and lack the ability to adjust," he
said.