Training ends for workers filling expatriates' shoes

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has completed training 35,468 workers to fill positions that have or will be vacated by expatriates, according to an official.

Suwarto, the Ministry of Manpower's secretary-general, said here on Wednesday that the "Indonesianization" program was regulated by a 1995 presidential decree and had been funded with Rp 290 billion collected from expatriates working here.

He said the workers were employed in numerous sectors of the economy, including mining, tourism, electricity, telecommunications, electronics and fisheries.

"The workers have been given international standard training in various fields of expertise to fill more than 35,000 positions given to foreign workers in the past," he said.

He said that in the mining sector, 1,677 workers have been trained in drilling, technical inspection and exploration, while in the tourist sector, 605 workers have been trained how to manage restaurants, act as tourist guides and cook.

Under a 1997 ministerial decree, foreign workers are obliged to make an annual payment of US$100 into the government's "Indonesianization" program.

The 1995 presidential decree stipulates that expatriates can only be employed in jobs and positions that locals are not yet able to occupy. Currently, there are 35,200 expatriates employed in the country under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Manpower, the Investment Coordinating Board, various industrial zones, the directorate general for tourism and the Batam bonded zone authority.

Ministry of Manpower data shows that of the 35,200 expatriate workers, 8,455 are employed at a management level, 12,270 are recruited as professionals, 5,000 in supervisory fields and more than 9,000 as technicians and operators.

Suwarto said the government would press ahead with the "Indonesianization" program and continue to train local workers to replace foreign professionals, especially in accounting and consulting fields.

"We are still short of young accountants to replace predominantly Filipino accounting professionals who currently work here," he said.

Hong Kong

Meanwhile, the ministry's director general for labor placement, Din Syamsuddin, pledged that the government would continue to provide legal and insurance protection for Indonesian workers in the wake of numerous reports of ill-treatment and even torture at the hands of overseas employers.

The government plans to promote cooperation with foreign countries employing Indonesian workers to ensure that they are adequately protected, he said.

"We will also be strict with labor export companies because our workers' fate is in their hands. Companies found guilty of neglecting workers' safety and welfare will be punished," he said.

He said that in the last three months, around 20 workers have lodged protests with the ministry. The complaints included cases of rape, torture and overseas employers refusing to pay Indonesian workers for their services.

He also said the government would look into reports of Indonesian workers being underpaid in Hong Kong.

"We recently visited Hong Kong. The government there has set an annual minimum wage of HK$3,860, but many Indonesian workers are paid a monthly wage of only $200. That's a form of exploitation," he said. (rms)