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.