Unemployment programs need coordination

Unemployment programs need coordination

JAKARTA (JP): After three years of social safety net programs,
unemployment in the country is a staggering 37 million and
rising, a minister said.

Last year's number stood at 36 million.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty
Eradication Basri Hasanuddin admitted that the existing programs
for unemployment eradication were inadequate.

"The program has not worked due to lack of coordination," he
told reporters at his office on Tuesday.

"That's why today we're holding a meeting with related
parties, like officials from ministry of manpower, ministry of
home affairs and ministry of settlement and regional
development," he added.

The meeting, Basri said, was aimed at formulating joint
policies to develop and extend employment, and to formulate an
integrated and coordinated program to eradicate unemployment
across the country, a home to 210 million people.

According to Ministry of Manpower's Director General of
Manpower Placement and Development Tjepy F. Aloewie, several
ministries have already have good programs.

"The target is to implement the programs together with good
coordination, especially in the regions. The programs have to
absorb a lot of workers," Tjepy said. He added that programs like
agriculture mechanization only absorb a few workers.

Also included in the programs to cope with unemployment is
assisting workers going overseas, despite opposition from several
nongovernmental organizations and State Minister for Women
Empowerment Khofifah Indar Parawansa, demanding that labor export
be stopped due to many cases of human rights violations.

Tjepy said so far, there were no plans to ban labor export
activities.

"We think it doesn't need to be stopped, but the system has to
be fixed," he said. (09)