Indonesia collects Rp 100 trillion from labor export
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 04/07/2010 12:45 PM
Indonesia earns Rp 100 trillion (US$11 billion) in foreign exchange annually from the export of labor, an official says.
"Bank Indonesia reported that the foreign exchange from labor exports reached Rp 82 trillion in 2009. The figure excluded wages the migrant workers brought home or sent to their families through their close relatives,” head of the Indonesian Labor Placement and Protection Agency (BNP2TKI) Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat said Wednesday.
The agency data reveals 5.5 million Indonesians are employed overseas, 1.3 million of them illegally.
Jumhur said the government would reduce the number of illegal migrant workers now that it had opened immigration services near the border with Malaysia and Singapore to help the workers obtain their necessary documents.
He said Indonesian migrant workers were employed in various sectors but they had much in common as tough and industrious employees.
"In future, we expect the number of migrant workers to increase and fill the market through the appropriate legal procedures,” he was quoted as saying by Antara state news agency.
