400 troubled workers repatriated from Kuwait

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 11/11/2009 9:44 AM  |  National

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar and Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar welcomed 406 troubled migrant workers repatriated from Kuwait at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Tuesday.

A number of senior officials including Deputy Foreign Minister Triyono Wibowo, chairman of the National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Overseas Labor Jumhur Hidayat and the deputy for women’s empowerment and children’s protection from the Coordinating Pulic Welfare Ministry, Maswita Wijaya, also joined the ministers to welcome home the migrant workers.

“The repatriation of troubled workers was handled by an interministry team,” Maswita was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.

“It is part of the government’s 100-day program.”

She said out of 406 migrant workers, 326 were repatriated from Kuwait while the remaining were from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

She said most of the female migrant workers had problems with overstaying their permits and the payment of their wages.

“Some of them were also accused of criminal acts,” she said.

Siti Rumingati, a 31-year-old female migrant worker from East Java, said she had been working in Kuwait since 2001.

“I returned to Indonesia in 2008. I then went back to Kuwait in January 2009,” she said.

“However, my employer did not pay my wages for eight months.”

She then asked the Indonesian Embassy in Kuwait for help in resolving the payment of her salary.

“But I still have not received any payment,” she said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Triyono said there were five children and another 13 infants among the repatriated migrant workers.

“We will help manage the childrens’ citizenship documents,” he said.

The government also repatriated 109 migrant workers from Kuwait in October.

Indonesia has suspended supplying migrant workers to Kuwait and Malaysia due to weak labor protection laws in the two countries.

Labor organizations earlier said thousands of troubled migrant workers had been stranded in Indonesian embassies in many countries including Kuwait.

Many workers employed as housemaids have frequently left their workplaces after being exploited, abused or mistreated by their employers.

Cases of exploitation and abuse were rampant because the migrant workers were undocumented and unskilled.

Muhaimin said his ministry would tighten procedures for workers before sending them overseas by making training mandatory.

He also threatened to withdraw the licenses of labor supply companies who failed to provide training.
Triyono said an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 migrant workers faced trouble overseas every year.

He also said the government would expedite the process to repatriate troubled migrant workers from overseas.

“Currently, we need about 45 days to process the immigration papers to repatriate [migrant] workers,” he said.

“We cannot repatriate troubled migrant workers en masse yet due to several factors.”

Triyono said the factors included the department’s limited budget and a lack of space at temporary shelters housing those migrant workers.

President Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono is slated to visit Malaysia on Wednesday to discuss bila-teral issues, including migrant workers.

The President earlier expressed concern over the death of Munti binti Bani after being abused by
her employer. Munti had worked as a housemaid in Malaysia for six years.

Meanwhile, Maswita said there were several ways to increase protection for Indonesian migrant workers such as creating memorandums of understanding with the workers’ countries of employment.

“The Coordinating Pulic Welfare Ministry will work with related ministries and agencies to expedite the handling of troubled migrant workers,” she said.

“The Foreign Ministry will ask countries of employment to ease the process for [obtaining] immigration documents.

“We will also help troubled migrant workers who are involved in criminal activities in their host countries,” she added.

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