The governments of Indonesia and the US are set to enhance their cooperation in the manpower sector after US Ambassador to Indonesia Robert O. Blake met with Manpower Minister Muhammad Hanif Dhakiri at the ministry on Monday.

'€œWe want to enhance our bilateral relations in the manpower sector by signing a memorandum of understanding [MoU] between my ministry and the US DOL [United States Department of Labor],'€ Hanif said in Jakarta on Monday after the meeting.

'€œWe want the MoU to also guarantee more opportunities for skilled and professional Indonesian workers who wish to work in every city in the US.'€

He said, however, that they had not set the specific time as to when the MoU between the Manpower Ministry and US DOL could be signed.

He added that the agreement would cover the '€˜equal wages for equal jobs'€™ principle, which guarantees equal wages and opportunities for every skilled and professional Indonesian national.

In addition to that, during the meeting with Blake, the minister asked the US to help Indonesia to better implement the K3 (safety precautions) in every workplace as well as to combat people trafficking.

'€œWe are hoping that the US can help us improve the skills of our workers so that they are more skillful before they seek new jobs in other countries,'€ he continued. (++++)