Call to amend labor laws to protect migrant workers
Labor and human rights activists demanded that the country's labor laws should include transparent information on overseas employment and should have provisions pertaining to workers' rights. Anis Hidayah, executive director of Migrant Care, said migrant workers were not provided with information concerning their legal rights during the application process. Lisa Noor Humaidah of the National Commission for Women said that Migrant Law No. 39/2007 does not cover women's rights to receive reproductive health services and counseling/guidance in cases of abuse. Several MoUs between Indonesia and other countries only stipulate the placement process, not workers' human rights. Indonesia signed agreements with Malaysia and South Korea in 2006, with Jordan in 2001 and with Kuwait in 1996.
Migrant workers need training and protection
Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Erman Suparno told a hearing at the House of Representatives' labor commission that the increasing abuse of Indonesian workers abroad was due to the low quality of education and training in the country. In response to calls from commission members to temporarily halt the export of Indonesian labor, Erman said the government could not stop people from working abroad because it would violate the 1945 Constitution and the 2004 labor placement and protection law. Commission members called on the government to take tough actions against anyone involved in illegally smuggling workers overseas. Apart from ensuring workers' skills and competence in foreign languages, the government has to protect overseas workers in trouble and provide necessary facilities upon their return home, commission chairwoman Ribka Tjiptaning said. Erman said he had revoked the licenses of 107 manpower agencies and dismissed seven ministry staff for irregularities.
Indonesia to cancel agreement with Malaysia
Indonesian Manpower Minister Erman Suparno said he would seek cancellation for an agreement with Malaysia, which allows Malaysian employers to hold Indonesian workers' passports, during a meeting with the Malaysian government in September. He has received reports that many Indonesian migrant workers had been extorted by Malaysian police and Rela because their passports were held by their employers. The said agreement was criticized by the ILO and the UN.
Indonesian officials seek access to 72 workers in Iraq
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry has allegedly summoned US Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron Hume on 7 September to seek access to some 72 migrant workers being kept at American military camps in Iraq despite the expiration of their employment contract. According to a ministry official, the Indonesian cooks, technicians and cleaners continue to be held in the camps more than three months after completing their 17-month contracts. Foreign Ministry director for the protection of Indonesian citizens abroad, Teguh Wardoyo, disclosed that Jakarta's request for access to the workers conveyed through the US embassies in Jakarta, Iraq, Jordan and Syria and the US State Department for the past three months had been denied. Meanwhile, one of Iraq-based migrant workers, electrical inspector Wasis Pujiono, clarified that the Indonesian workers are well taken care of and that their working conditions there are much better than in Indonesia.
Credit facilities for migrant workers
State-owned Bank BNI will provide credit facilities to migrant workers. Bank president director Sigit Pramono said the bank would provide soft-loan credit facilities through recruiters to prevent would-be migrant workers from selling their properties to work overseas and to help them to run small-scale businesses at home upon return.
3 Malaysians nabbed
The Bogor Immigration Office has apprehended three Malaysians, identified as The Choong eng, 53, Yap Yuen Loy, 43, and Tee Kok Khing, 31, for working in Bogor on tourist visas. They worked in the quality control division of PT Mastrotto Indonesia in Sentul, Bogor, said the head of the Bogor Immigration Office, Ibrahim Saleh. They were arrested on 31 August while attempting to extend their temporary visas.
Chinese peddler caught
The Jayapura immigration authorities arrested a Chinese woman, identified as Jinzhu Zheng, 31, for allegedly working as an accessories vendor while holding a tourist visa, said head of the Jayapura Immigration Office Giri Haryanto.
Sources: Abdul Khalik, "'Use anger at Malaysia to seek better treatment of workers'," The Jakarta Post, 1 September 2007; "RI to cancel agreement on Indonesian passports with Malaysia," Antara News, 1 September 2007; "RI to cancel deal on migrant passports," The Jakarta Post, 3 September 2007; Ridwan Max Sijabat, "RI migrant workers lack protection, education," The Jakarta Post, 4 September 2007; Xinhua, "3 Malaysians arrested in Indonesia for visa violation," People's Daily, 4 September 2007; Antara, "Chinese national arrested for visa violation," The Jakarta Post, 5 September 2007; Antara, "Immigration office arrests three Malaysians for visa violation," The Jakarta Post, 5 September 2007; Abdul Khalik, "72 Indonesian workers kept in U.S. Iraq camps," The Jakarta Post, 8 September 2007; AFP, "Indonesia wants access to workers in US camps in Iraq," Today, 8 September 2007; AFP, "Indonesia wants access to workers in US camps: report," Dawn, 9 September 2007; Abdul Khalik, "RI workers say they are safe and well in Iraq," The Jakarta Post, 10 September 2007
"Clear info demanded for labor workers," The Jakarta Post, 13 September 2007; Ridwan Max Sijabat, "BNI commits to migrant labor," The Jakarta Post, 14 September 2007