Underpaid college grads eye job as maid

Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

About 1,000 people flocked to a reality show audition earlier this month, where local soap opera heartthrob Ari Wibowo was looking for a domestic helper with a promised monthly salary of Rp 10 million (US$1,050) for a one-year contract.

The show attracted people from various backgrounds, most of whom said the money was their main motive, particularly university students and graduates.

Apparently, the Ari Wibowo Cari Pembantu (Ari Wibowo Search for a Housemaid) reality show also attracted university graduates as they, according to a recent government labor survey, only earned Rp 1.54 million per month, on average.

The 2004 National Labor Force Survey (Sakernas) report shows that of the country's 2.4 million recent university graduates that are actually employed, most earned between Rp 1 million and Rp 2 million monthly.

The report also concluded that recent university graduates working in the mining sector earned an average Rp 3.11 million monthly last year.

Last year's lowest average income for a university graduate was at Rp 1.34 million in the community, social and personal services sector.

Gender-wise and regardless of educational background, male managers in the mining sector earned the highest average monthly salary of Rp 5.91 million last year.

The figure, however, was 40 percent higher than the highest average amount received by female managers, working in the transportation sector, at Rp 3.49 million per month.

The survey said that the open unemployment rate rose to 9.86 percent last year from 9.67 percent in 2003, despite the fact that the economy grew by 5.1 percent from 4.8 percent in the corresponding period.

The absolute numbers for open unemployment expanded to 10.25 million people in 2004 from 9.94 million the previous year.

Separately, a human resources executive in a multinational company said a survey of the country's 100 top firms showed that fresh graduates at entry managerial level were paid between Rp 2.05 million and Rp 2.68 million, not including benefits, last year.

The executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Jakarta Post that fresh graduates could have their salary increased to Rp 5.4 million monthly after two years, before benefits or bonuses were figured in.

"Only if he is a very high performer, can he earn Rp 10 million per month after at least three years," the executive said.

Even the top firms' average for entry level positions, which is lower than the reality show's, made the idea of being a domestic servant even more attractive.

Many underpaid or unemployed graduates were seen applying to work as domestics, and likely there were lots of others who strongly considered giving it a shot. It will require them to be a bodyguard, house security guard and personal masseur/masseuse, as well as taking care of household chores, irrespective of their educational attainment.

Media reports said the reality show applicants included teachers, models and flight attendants, as well as postgraduate students.

One of them was Irvan, a postgraduate student of international relations at the University of Indonesia, who advanced to the big 20 episode.

"My motivation is money. If I win, I will use the money to finance my education abroad," he was quoted by Warta Kota daily as saying, and went on to add that if the show made him famous he would regard it as a "fun bonus".