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Indonesia seeks greater int'l access for its workers
The government aims to include access for Indonesian laborers in future agreements with trading partners in an attempt to boost the countryâs trade in services, a top official has said
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he government aims to include access for Indonesian laborers in future agreements with trading partners in an attempt to boost the country's trade in services, a top official has said.
Trade Minister Thomas Trikasih Lembong said on Tuesday that the ministry would strive for special market access for the country's workers and services in the negotiations of agreements with trading partners.
'With the fact that trade in services is playing a greater role nowadays and that our economic growth hasn't achieved a certain level that can absorb all available employees, we indeed have an interest in exporting laborers and improving the export of services,' he said.
Indonesia is set to continue a number of negotiations with trading partners like Iran, South Korea and the European Union this year, Trade Ministry director for international trade and cooperation Bachrul Chairi said previously.
According to the head of the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), Nusron Wahid, with the country's annual economic growth hitting about 5 percent, there are only 1.5 million workers out of 2.8 million who can secure jobs in the domestic market.
There were another 1.3 million who did not have access to the domestic market, but they could possibly tap into overseas markets by providing services in nursing or the automotive sector, he said after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Trade Ministry on Tuesday.
Thomas said the calculation of Indonesia's trade balance had to be expanded to not only include merchandise trade, but also trade in services.
The contribution of the trade in services to Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) rose from 6 percent in 2011 to 6.4 percent in 2014, according to the World Bank's estimate. The figure is, however, still a far cry from those of Singapore (91.6 percent), Thailand (26.8 percent) and the Philippines (15.7 percent) in 2014.
To further support Indonesia's trade in services, BNP2TKI signed an MoU with the Trade Ministry on Tuesday to help promote Indonesia's semi-skilled services.
Thomas said that his ministry would utilize its Indonesian Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) offices worldwide to promote not only the country's main commodities, but also its services.
Remittances from Indonesia's overseas workers ' one of the sources for the country's foreign exchange reserves ' surged by 24 percent year-on-year (yoy) to US$10.5 billion last year, as many Middle Eastern employees raised Indonesian housekeepers' wages in response to President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's previous plan to halt sending unskilled workers overseas, including housekeepers, Nusron said.
