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Manpower minister insists that country not send domestic helpers to Kuwait
Indonesian Manpower Minister M. Hanif Dhakiri has firmly refused to send domestic helpers as requested by the government of Kuwait.
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Manpower Minister M. Hanif Dhakiri (right) expresses welcome to Kuwait Ambassador to Indonesia H.E. Abdul Wahab Abdullah Al-Saqar during a visit to the Manpower Ministry office on Aug.18, 2016. (-/-)
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ndonesian Manpower Minister M. Hanif Dhakiri has firmly refused to send domestic helpers as requested by the government of Kuwait. “As of today, the government has not entertained the idea of revoking the moratorium on sending labor in the domestic sector to the Middle East, including to Kuwait,” the minister informed Kuwaiti Ambassador HE Abdul Wahab Abdullah Al-Saqar.
On Aug. 18, at his office, the minister played host to the Kuwaiti ambassador. In the meeting, the Kuwaiti government specifically requested that the Indonesian government permit the sending of labor in the domestic sector to Kuwait. Although HE Abdul Wahab said that the Kuwaiti government respected the decision, he specifically requested that Indonesia exclude Kuwait from the policy. “The royal family and the people of Kuwait are in need of domestic helpers from Indonesia,” Abdul Wahab said. “We hope that, especially for Kuwait, the Indonesian government can consider issuing a special policy.”
Yet, Minister Hanif was resolute and reasserted the government’s decision to not send domestic workers until Middle Eastern governments show significant improvement in the treatment and protection of not only Indonesian workers, but also those from other countries. “We still won’t send labor to Middle Eastern countries, including Kuwait, unless they are formal workers with specific skills,” said the minister, a member of the National Awakening Party (PKB).
The ambassador was not discouraged by the minister’s response, and continued to try to persuade the Indonesian government. He said that his government had improved the country’s protection system for foreign labor. There are plans for a bilateral meeting in November between the two countries in West Nusa Tenggara. The meeting, which is to be attended by the foreign minsters from both countries, will discuss, among other issues, labor within the domestic sector.
Nevertheless, Hanif again reasserted the government’s decision on the moratorium, saying there are no plans to sign any special bilateral agreements.
On May 30, 1996, the two governments signed the “Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the State of Kuwait on Placement of Manpower”. However, the agreement is limited to the placement of manpower for legal entities, not for domestic or personal employment. Last year, the Manpower Ministry issued Ministerial Decree No. 260/2015 on the cessation and prohibition of the placement of Indonesian manpower for personal employment in Middle Eastern countries. Kuwait is included on the list of countries affected by the decree.
