Welcome home, now how about giving us your cash?

Welcome home, now how about giving us your cash?

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

A new terminal was opened in September 1999 at Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport to provide greater ease and comfort for
homecoming migrant workers. But, the exact opposite has happened.
The extortion of migrant workers has become more
prevalent as the practice is now beyond public watch.

High-ranking officials such as the Minister of Manpower and
Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea have repeatedly pledged to fight
extortion at Terminal III, the special terminal for migrant
workers. Things, however, remain the same.

Komala, 20, arrived at the terminal last week from Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, where she had worked for three years.

She said she had to pay a certain sum of money at different
units at the airport.

"When we collected our baggage, we had to pay illegal fees of
Rp 15,000," the woman, who was from Purwakarta, West Java told
Antara.

She said another officer asked for Rp 20,000 for data
registration.

Before leaving the airport, all workers had to pass two
checking points where uniformed officers boldly asked them for
money, according to Komala.

The terminal is also in poor condition. It looks like a
warehouse and there are no facilities such as a comfortable
waiting room. People who come to pick up their relatives or
family members returning from overseas have to wait at the
parking lot or in a nearby field. Those who know about the
condition of the terminal often take a mat so that they are able
to lie on the floor while waiting for the homecoming workers.

But many migrant workers have to travel home by themselves,
which should not have been a problem as there are 11 companies
entrusted by the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration to take
them home.

Unfortunately, the drivers and their assistants often cheat
passengers. They collect the passports of workers and extort
them. They also make them exchange their foreign bank notes for
rupiah at a much lower exchange rate.

Last month, police arrested several people for allegedly
extorting money and holding passports belonging to migrant
workers, whom they transported to Central and East Java.

One of the suspects claimed they had to ask for additional
money from the workers as their companies did not pay them
properly. "We're given a trip allowance of only Rp 250,000
(US$29.40) to transport the workers to areas in West Java, Rp
350,000 to Central Java and Rp 450,000 to East Java," said Yayat,
29, who worked for PT Koperjati.

Airport police chief Insp. Sri Suari Wahyudi said Sinah, a
worker, said her passport had been held by the drivers because
she objected to handing over her cheque book and exchanging her
dollars at much lower than the market rate. Sinah also refused to
give additional money to the drivers as each worker had paid Rp
250,000 for their ticket home.

The police then arrested four suspects. "But we have no strong
legal grounds to arrest the transportation operators for alleged
extortion and forced foreign currency exchange," Sri told The
Jakarta Post.

M. Zaini, operations director of a transportation company
operating at the airport, admitted the drivers were paid by means
of the commission they earn on every trip they make to transport
the workers.

He did not say what percentage the commission was, but he said
the trip allowances were between Rp 900,000 and Rp 1,100,000 for
destinations in East Java, between Rp 700,000 and Rp 800,000 for
destinations in Central Java and between Rp 300,000 and Rp
500,000 for destinations in West Java.