Ismira Lutfia & Camelia Pasandaran – Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Muhaimin Iskandar said on Monday that the government would maintain its bans on sending migrant workers to Kuwait and Malaysia until it received assurances from both countries that they would ensure better treatment of Indonesian workers.
"We will object if the treatment, or the placement method [of the workers] is not fully guaranteed by the memorandums of understanding," Muhaimin said.
Indonesia is currently negotiating memorandums of understanding on the treatment of migrant workers with both Malaysia and Kuwait.
Last June, migrant workers were banned from travelling to Malaysia following reports that some workers were being abused and were not being paid. Three months later, a similar ban was applied on migrant workers traveling to Kuwait following similar reports. Most Indonesian migrant workers are maids, construction workers and plantation workers.
Muhaimin said the suspensions are unlikely to be revoked until the agreements were finalized. He said such bans might also be applied to other countries "that could not give maximum protection."
He said one of the biggest problems migrant workers faced was being forced to pay for things like transportation, recruitment costs and training.
It is a big concern because employers and workers need to determine who pays what while arranging to import the workers from Indonesia, he said.
"It is still the same problems," he said, adding that Indonesia also demanded equal treatment with local workers under the host countries' legal systems.
Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration spokesman Budi Hartawan said on Monday that Muhaimin would visit four Middle Eastern countries early next month in an effort to improve the welfare of Indonesian migrant workers in the region.
Another aim of the trip was to "expand job opportunities for skilled workers in some Middle Eastern countries," Budi said.
Muhaimin is scheduled to visit Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to see for himself the conditions of migrant workers' shelters there, Budi said.
He would also visit Lebanon to hold bilateral talks on the possibility of establishing a memorandum of understanding about sending migrant workers there, he said.
Budi said that to make the most out of the trip, Muhaimin might also visit more Middle Eastern countries than the scheduled four. He said the ministry was still working on the minister's schedule.
There are currently 4.3 million Indonesians working in 42 countries, according to the National Board for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers (BNP2TKI).
That figure, however, does not include an estimated 2-4 million Indonesians working abroad illegally.