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.