Training ends for workers filling expatriates' shoes

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)