TKI must have medical checkups, says minister

TKI must have medical checkups, says minister

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

All workers seeking employment overseas must now undergo medical
checkups in authorized clinics before their departure to avoid
future health problems, the minister in charge of worker
migration said.

"All workers must be considered healthy before they leave and
any who have contracted potentially fatal diseases must not be
sent overseas. Diseases cause problems not only for the workers,
but also for their employers, sponsors and families," the
Minister for Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said on
Friday.

Nua Wea was speaking while witnessing insurance payouts to
three migrant workers who died in Saudi Arabia during the past
two months.

United Corporate Insurance, which runs commercial insurance
schemes for Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia, paid US$4,900
each to the relatives of Kastirah binti Tasim of Indramayu, West
Java; Siti Wulandari binti Sumingan of Magetan, East Java; and
Anah binti Anin Darsan of West Nusa Tenggara.

Three other migrant workers employed in Taiwan, Singapore and
Malaysia, have died recently from leukemia, heart disease and
tuberculosis. Their remains were sent home by their sponsors.

Last year, many workers also died during overseas employment
and many others suffered severe injuries on the job.

Nuwa Wea warned he would get tough on labor exporters who were
found guilty of sending unhealthy workers overseas.

He had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Health
Ministry to accredit and examine all clinics appointed to issue
health certificates, he said.

"Clinics that have non-standard medical facilities and minimum
medical staff will be delisted. Those manipulating the system or
tampering with health certificates will be taken to court."

The government would also revoke the license of labor-
supplying companies that sent sick and pregnant workers overseas,
he said.

Labor exporter Anthon Sihombing criticized the government's
measures to fix problems with migrant workers, saying they were
sporadic and would not solve the problem.

The government should deploy a holistic approach if it wanted
to reduce problems with migrant workers, he said.

"Besides providing a better labor export system, the
government should stop the sending of illegal workers -- a crime
that should be included in the category of human trafficking --
and sign bilateral agreements with countries employing Indonesian
workers."

"It's not just the fault of labor exporters and insurance
companies. It's mainly the government and the authorities who
have helped send unskilled, sick and troubled workers overseas,"
he said, Anthon said.

The minister should take action against his staff, who were
stationed in international airports and seaports where the
workers' medical certificates were checked. If sick workers were
allowed to go out of the ports, manpower and transmigration staff
should be punished first, Anthon said.