"Based on regulation, there would be no way of rejecting the presence of expatriates in the country," Ahmad Hijazi said .
Pekanbaru (ANTARA News) - Secretary of the Riau provincial administration Ahmad Hijazi said the presence of foreign workers in Indonesia including Riau is legal.

"Based on regulation, there would be no way of rejecting the presence of expatriates in the country. It is based on international cooperation agreement and regional cooperation agreement on ASEAN Economic Community," Ahmad Hijazi said here on Tuesday.

It is clearly said in a number of the articles of the WTO agreement about liberalization, he said, adding therefore, the government needs to focus more on improving the competitiveness of the country`s human resources.

He suggested imposition of restriction on foreign workers through technical barriers with certain requirements they have to meet.

Meanwhile, the Regional Labor and Transmigration Service of Riau said the province has employed at least 739 foreign workers.

"The presence of foreign workers from a number of countries is allowed by regulation," head of the service Rasidin Siregar said.

Rasidin said the Presidential Regulation No 20 of 2018, simplifying the recruitment procedure for foreign workers resulted in growing number of foreign workers in Riau.

He acknowledged, however, the regulation is still based on the old regulation with only the procedure being simplified, saying, "We in Riau still stick to the old regulation No. 39."

He said foreign workers are allowed to work only in companies holding the License to Use Foreign Workers (IMTA), adding otherwise they may not work in Riau.

He said his office would continue to monitor the activities of the foreign workers, saying most of the foreign workers are employed by oil company Checron and pulp and paper maker Indah Kiat

On Tuesday to coincide with the May Day, tens of thousands of workers took to the street protesting the government regulation facilitating recruitment of foreign workers in the country.

Indonesian Labor Minister Hanif Dhakiri defended the Presidential Regulation saying the regulation is still the same as the old one that dates back to the previous regime .

"The change is only with the simplification of the procedure cutting the red tape. If we could issue the license in one day , why we should delay it for a week or a month," he said.

The foreign worker issue has become hot public debates lately amid heated political rivalry ahead of the presidential election next year .

Opposition party Gerindra is seeking support for its proposal to form a Special Committee for Parliamentary Inquiry into the Presidential Regulation dismissing explanation of the Labor Minister.

(AS/o001)
(T.SYS/B/H-ASG/A/O001)

Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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