Financial crisis looming threat to RI migrant workers
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 11/28/2008 8:06 PM
With the ripple effects of the global financial crisis and economic downturns starting to hit Asian countries, hundreds of thousands of Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan could soon face layoffs, officials and civil society groups have said.
In South Korea, several thousand Indonesian migrant workers have been laid off due to the economic slowdown in the last few months. In Malaysia some 300,000 Indonesian workers could face layoffs early next year if factories reduce production.
"We've heard many complaints from workers in South Korea that they've been laid off. They said thousands of them were out of work," Migrant Care founder Wahyu Susilo said Friday.
Wahyu, a respected activist on migrant-worker issues, said the workers had told him they had refused to go back home, preferring to stay in South Korea and continue to work, though illegally.
"They know they'll be jobless here if they come back. They're willing to do anything, including becoming illegal workers, to earn an income," he said.
Earlier, Indonesia's Ambassador to Malaysia Da'i Bachtiar said that out of 2 million Indonesian workers in Malaysia, 300,000 working in various industries could face layoffs due to the
decline in orders.
"We fear as firms cut costs because of the economic downturn, some 300,000 of our workers will lose their jobs," he said.
Da'i said workers in Malaysia were still safe from layoffs, at least until early next year, because they had contracts with the companies which sponsored them.
"But after that, we're afraid a wave of layoffs may begin. We'll wait to see what the Malaysian government plans to do about this," he said.
Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Erman Suparno said Indonesian workers in Taiwan and Hong Kong could also face similar hardship.
"We expect to see our workers sent home, especially those in manufacturing. I don't know how many as yet," he said.
According to the National Commission for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), 5.8 million Indonesian workers earn their living outside the country. Most
work in Malaysia and the Middle East. The commission estimates 125,000 Indonesians work in Taiwan, 120,000 in Hong Kong and 25,000 in South Korea, with the rest scattered through Japan and Brunei Darussalam.
In 2006, migrant workers sent home Rp 60 trillion (US$5 billion) in foreign reserves, equivalent to three times the country's foreign direct investment, BPN2TKI chair Jumhur Hidayat
said recently.
Erman said those working in Japan, the Middle East and Brunei were still safe from dismissals.
Foreign Ministry director for Indonesian migrant worker protection Teguh Wardoyo said the number of Indonesian workers laid off in recent months had yet to be officially confirmed.
"We are still gathering data from our representatives abroad to get a clearer picture. But I don't think it's that gloomy," he said.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah said Indonesia's embassies in those countries stood ready to help workers facing layoffs claim rights due them.
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