"Only this year did the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono conducted an overall evaluation over the dispatch overseas of Indonesian domestic helpers after 40 years of problematic trap," Jumhur Hidayat said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Head of the National Agency for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI) Moh Jumhur Hidayat said 2011 was a historic year for the Indonesian manpower agency.

He said that this year his agency was able to apply an online system which enable provincial and district level governments, which so far were not involved, to control the placement of workers overseas which had often created problems.

"Previously, regional governments complained because they were not involved in the handling of Indonesian migrant workers. Many of their residents worked abroad without their knowledge. Now all this has been improved," he said.

In addition, the BNP2TKI launched a call center service to accelerate the process for workers to obtain justice facing labor problems.

Not less important is its achievement to handle Indonesian migrant workers problem overseas.

"Only this year did the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono conducted an overall evaluation over the dispatch overseas of Indonesian domestic helpers after 40 years of problematic trap," he said here on Thursday.

He said that due to various problems faced by its migrant workers, the government had this year imposed moratoriums on the sending of informal Indonesian migrant workers to Saudi Arabia, Jordan (since 2010), Kuwait, Syria and Malaysia (recently revoked after being effective since June 2009).

In the Middle Eastern countries for example, there are about 1.5 - 1.7 million Indonesian migrant workers, including overstayers or those who were working illegally.

An estimate has put the number of Indonesian oversayers in Saudi Arabia at 50,000. The government had planned to help some 25,000 return home this year while the remaining 25,000 will still have to stay there until they see what the government will do with them.

This is because the government lacked funds. This year, the Indonesian government only has Rp128 billion in funds to repatriate some 25,000 over-stayers.

Therefore, Indonesian migrant workers overseas needed protection from Indonesian representatives in the form of services and assistance when they faced problems.

"Indonesian house maids have always faced problems because of the absence of laws which could protect them," Jumhur said.

So far, many quarters have raised criticisms that Indonesia should have not sent domestic helpers abroad because Indonesia is a rich country.

That?s why, the government this year did its best to conclude a statement of intent with the Saudi Araban government. The document was eventually signed in May.

"Thank God, we have signed a statement of intent toward the signing of an MoU with Indonesia," Saudi Arabian Manpower Minister Adel Mohammad Fakeih said after attending the signing of the SoI last May.

Fakeih said the two countries needed to sign the MoU as a legal umbrella for the placement and protection of about 1.5 million Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia. The statement of intent is expected to be followed by the signing of an MoU by both governments within the coming six months.

According to Jumhur, the letter of intent contains a number of matters relating to the arrangement, placement and protection of Indonesian workers so that they would be able to work comfortably and securely with protection.

Based on the statement of intent, the placement and protection of TKIs included efforts to respect workers` dignity with the provision of an insurance program, health, legal counseling and an interpreter team when they are facing various problems and disputes.

This success is among the reasons, apart from the moratoriums, why the BNP2TKI chief said 2011 is a historic year for his agency. Jumhur made the remarks during an evaluation on the performance of his agency in 2011 and projection for 2012.

"The comprehensive evaluation concluded that 2011 is the most historic year where polices on moratoriums could lead to permanent termination of domestic workers dispatch," he said.

After all, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar has stated that Indonesia would stop sending house maids overseas in 2017. Yet, Jumhur said termination of sending domestic helpers could be avoided if their status could be changed into a formal worker.

He said the plan could be carried out if domestic helpers placement model remained the same as the present system (live-in system) where domestic helpers abroad stayed with their employers for 24 hours.

Therefore, the government is now doing its best to implement a live-out system policy which would enable domestic helpers to stay only 8 eight hours at their employers` houses. Moreover, if their status as informal workers could be changed into formal ones, domestic helpers? dispatch abroad should not necessarily be stopped.

Indonesian domestic helpers can work as formal home assistants so that their status could be classified as formal workers. In addition, with a formal status, they could work with a live-out system.

"With the application of a `live out` system, Indonesian domestic helpers (TKI) do not need to stay 24 hours at their employers` houses," Moh Jumhur Hidayat said.

"In the live-out system, domestic helpers go home to a boarding house after working 8 hours since morning at their employers homes," he said. The live-out system would not only make Indonesian domestic helpers easier to protect but also more respectable. In fact, it would also be better for the host country`s reputation.

Jumhur said that of about six million Indonesian migrant workers abroad at present, about 59 percent were informal ones or domestic helpers and 41 percent are workers in the formal sector. The number of informal workers should be reduced but increase that working in the formal sector.

After all, they contributed significant amount of foreign exchange to the state. Up to November 2011, the amount of remittance sent by Indonesian workers abroad through Bank Indonesia (BI) this year, amounted to US$6.17 billion.

"In 2012, the government will do its best to make it balanced namely 50 percent workers in the formal sector and 50 percent others in the informal sector," Jumhur said.(*)

Reporter: By Andi Abdussalam
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011