The Indonesian government is hoping to propose similar key demands stipulated in a signed memorandum of understanding with Malaysia on migrant workers in future negotiations with Saudi Arabia.

“We will bring the issues of one day off per week, passports, working hours, mechanisms for solving problems and types of services that will be provided by the Saudi Arabian government for our migrant workers, such as call centers and insurance,” Indonesia National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Overseas Labor (BNP2TKI) head Jumhur Hidayat said.

Indonesia and Saudi Arabia moved one step forward in resolving migrant worker issues by holding
a senior officials meeting on May 28 that produced a statement agreeing on a six-month deadline to draft an MoU.

According to Jumhur, who led the delegation at the senior officials meeting, there are still several difficul...