Monday 31 January 2011

Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Employment Agencies (Himsataki) Questions Regulation No. 7 of The Ministry of Labor and Transmigration

Placement operators of Indonesian private workers (PPTKIS) protested issuance of Regulation of Ministry of Labor and Transmigration No. 7/MEN/V/2010 on Indonesian Workers Insurance which is suspected as serving certain external interest. The new regulation replaced the previous regulation Permenakertrans No. 24/MEN/XII/2008 of insurance for Indonesian workers which was used to regulate provision of protective insurance from pre-placement to post placement of workers abroad.

According to the Chairman of HMSATAKI Yunus M. Yamani, the amended Regulation only touched on figures and amount of insurance value, but the essence of protection was not there.

The new regulation did not exactly give any protection to Indonesian workers who apparently worked overseas moreover any protection of insurance was never received by workers so far.

Supposedly the Minister of Labor and Transmigration observed the law more thoroughly especially about the motives behind it, because as known there were still a good number of problematic workers whose cases were still unsettled supposedly the new law did not protect the interest of certain business sector.

“I only see the change of figures in Permenakertrans No. 07/MEN/V/2010, i.e. in Article 10 it was stated that the insurance company has a deposit of Rp. 500 million and the Head of consortium has Rp. 2 billion”, Yunus remarked.

Article 8 of the Regulation stated that Chairman of the Consortium of Insurance companies were required to posses own capital of at least Rp. 500 million, having the biggest asset among consortium members which totaled up around Rp. 2 trillion and commanding over a network of branch offices in at least 15 embarkation points.

The previous regulation, Permenakertrans No. 23/MEN/XII/2008 did not regulate deposit of guarantee and chairman of insurance consortium, while the number of branch office required was only in 5 embarkation points.

Furthermore Yunus added that protection for Indonesian workers during their stay overseas was not regulated in the new Regulation, meaning that there was no significant change in terms of protection of Indonesian workers.

Supposedly thousand of claims of Indonesian workers that are not settled be settled first, then only the Minister of Labor and Transmigration could work on the revised Regulation.

Himsataki also sees that may statements of Minister Muhaimin which are not being realized, such as withdrawal of workers’ placement permit (SIUP) form 22 PPTKIS up till now none of the Regulations are cancelled, without any explanation at all.

A notable case are Indonesian migrant workers who are returning from Hong Kong and Taiwan, who are supposed to undergo an exercise plan (an experimental procedure) to exit through normal gate upon disembarking at the Soekarno Hatta International airport Jakarta it turns out that this plan is not being realized either.

Operators of workers placement are only hoping that the Ministry of Labor and Transmigration as the highest authority in labor affairs will prove his words and actually put stern sanctions for violators of regulations and breakers of the affective law.

Up till now, the Minister of Manpower and Transmigration have not answered questions of the press on the issuance of the new Ministrial Regulation on workers insurance. Presently Minister Muhaimin Iskandar is accompanying President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on an official visit to Turkey.

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