Manama: The decision by the Indonesian government to recall its workers from the Middle East is final and will not be reversed.
Around 1.3 million Indonesians are employed in the Middle East, mainly domestic helpers, and the government wants them back home within 15 months, sources told Saudi daily Al Hayat.
Indonesia in May said it would stop sending people to work as domestic helpers abroad, a move that would affect 21 countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, the UAE, Lebanon and Egypt.
Saudi Arabia, home to around 700,000 helpers, mainly maids and drivers, will have to look to new countries to replace the much-valued manpower.
The Jakarta Post in May reported that Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri said the ban on the 21 Middle East countries, considered as among the top destinations of Indonesian workers, was “part of a road map to end the placement of domestic workers overseas, and that stopping the deployment of maids to the Middle East was because regulating their protection had been ineffective”.
Dhakiri added that the “ineffective protection of domestic workers, mostly women, had led to many abuses apart from a low wage level of up to 3 million rupiah [$229.79], which is lower than the minimum wage of Bekasi”, the industrial area east of Jakarta, which is 3.2 million rupiah.
However, the daily in an editorial criticised Dhakiri, saying that “the indications are far from promising that his plan could fare better than those of his predecessors”.
“As a village head in Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, said, the village largely depends on the employment of migrant workers mainly in the Middle East,” the editorial said
“The minister has said he fully understands the conditions faced by migrant workers, as his mother once worked in Saudi Arabia. Thus, it is surprising that he has easily taken a short-cut policy to banning Indonesian maids from working in the Middle East, if he understands that such an option is taken because villagers see it as the best available amid opportunities at home.
“The minister rightly cited the vulnerability of women to abuse in the private space of employers, but it is the task of the state to facilitate the right of citizens to work while constantly working to improve their protection,” the daily said.
In February, President Joko Widodo said Indonesia would stop sending women to work as maids overseas to preserve the country’s dignity and that the country was already working on a target to enforce the decision.
“I have given manpower minister a target to come up with a clear roadmap on when we can stop sending female domestic workers. We should have pride and dignity,” he said.
Media reported that Joko, who visited Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines one week before the speech, said he felt ashamed and upset when discussing the issue with Malaysia.
“There are only three countries in the world supplying domestic workers, two are in Asia and one in Africa. One of those in Asia is Indonesia. This is a matter of dignity. It was really shameful [speaking about this] during our bilateral with Malaysia,” he reportedly said.
Indonesia will continue sending women to work as maids to Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Brunei, where about 708,000 Indonesians work as maids.
The government now wants to train the women to specialise in tasks such as caring for babies or cooking, rather than doing all manners of menial jobs.
