Jakarta, April 26 (Antara) - Indonesian migrant workers (TKIs) employed overseas are major contributors to the country's foreign exchange, with an average remittance of Rp100 trillion per annum.
However, many of them in various countries face problems, such as inadequate skills, inappropriate immigration documents, or illegal employment, as they are dispatched by illegal manpower supplier firms. They are less paid and involved in legal cases and in other issues too.
Hence, the government is determined to improve its services and protection for TKIs. For this purpose, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is expected to visit Hong Kong later this month to meet and collect first-hand information from Indonesian migrant workers there.
Last Sunday, the head of the National Agency for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers Oversees (BNP2TKI), Nusron Wahid, met hundreds of TKIs in Hong Kong.
He met the Indonesian migrant workers to obtain information as part of an advance visit before Jokowi's arrival. Wahid discussed various problems experienced by the migrant workers and the solutions to tackle their problems.
The Indonesian migrant workers were informed that the government of Jokowi was committed to increase protection and services for Indonesian citizens working overseas.
"The government will continue to improve regulations and services," Wahid reiterated.
According to legislators, the Indonesian migrant workers overseas have not yet obtained optimal services, although they contribute significantly to the state revenues.
"The number of TKIs working abroad now is about 6 million people. This is a large number. If every TKI sends back Rp1 million of his or her salary to Indonesia, the circulation of money in the country will increase by about Rp6 trillion a month or about Rp72 trillion per year. This contributes a significant amount to the state revenues," Irgan Chairul Mahfiz, a member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR), noted in Jakarta on Tuesday (April 25).
Mahfiz argued that TKIs have not yet been managed optimally so far. Many TKIs with low skills are sent to work overseas. In addition to this, some have inappropriate immigration documents, while some others face legal cases overseas. Besides that, many are sent abroad through illegal channels.
In order to improve services for Indonesian migrant workers, the DPR and the government agreed to temporarily halt the dispatch of Indonesian workers abroad or to impose moratorium. But there are still many TKIs who go abroad through illegal channels.
Therefore, Mahfiz, who is a politician of the United Development Party, is of the opinion that the supervision of TKIs working abroad, both by the BNP2TKI and the Manpower Ministry, is not yet optimal.
He revealed that many TKIs sent abroad have low skills and work only as domestic helpers in foreign countries. The government actually has arranged training programs through Job Training Centers (BLK), but many of the BLKs are no longer active.
The House hopes that the authority of the BNP2TKI should be reinforced to enhance the supervision of TKIs abroad.
In this regard, the House's Commission IX has proposed to strengthen the authority of the (BNP2TKI) to offer comprehensive protection to Indonesian migrant workers abroad through regulations.
"Law No. 39 of 2004 on Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers Abroad regulates protection for Indonesian workers overseas, but in the revision of the law, the House proposes offering comprehensive protection," Dewi Asmara, a member of Commission IX of the House, noted in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The House's Commission IX is currently deliberating the revision of Law No. 39 of 2004 that regulates protection for Indonesian migrant workers abroad.
Law No. 39 of 2004 already regulates Indonesian workers working in other countries, yet the revision, which constitutes a draft law initiated by the DPR, proposed offering comprehensive protection starting from the recruitment process of workers from their regions, work training, and document handling during overseas employment until they return home to Indonesia.
The BNP2TKI, a special agency for handling Indonesian migrant workers, has been tasked with supervising the placement of these migrant workers overseas.
"As a special agency for supervising Indonesian migrant workers, the BNP2TKI should be reinforced and be answerable directly to the president," Asmara remarked.
She said there are several other institutions whose key tasks and functions are related to Indonesian migrant workers abroad, such as the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Asmara, coordination among the BNP2TKI, ministries, and other relevant institutions will be regulated through a presidential regulation.
In the meantime, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Puan Maharani has recently visited Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to meet problematic Indonesian workers there.
She was on a visit to Saudi Arabia in conjunction with the preparations for the Hajj pilgrimage. She took the opportunity to visit the camps of the Indonesian workers at the Consulate General of Indonesia in Jeddah.
The minister was surprised to see the conditions of problematic TKIs in Jeddah.
"I am so upset to see our citizens in this place. Most of them are women. Some have been here for 26 years but are not paid over the past 20 years. Some have never had a chance to communicate with their families in Indonesia for so many years, "she stated.
Hence, Maharani asked problematic Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia to return home after the Saudi government provided amnesty. "It is better for them to return home to be reunited with their families rather than undergoing uncertain life overseas," the minister said in a written statement received by Antara in Jakarta on Monday (April 24).
The coordinating minister asked the problematic Indonesian workers to make use of the immigration and work violation amnesty program offered by the Saudi government, which will last from March 29 to June 29, 2017, to return to Indonesia.
Through the program, violators would not be liable to fine if they return home and would not be black listed too, she said. ***4***(A014/INE/B003)EDITED BY INE
(T.A014/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 26-04-2017 21:51:1 |
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