•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia and Kuwait may see an improvement in conditions this year with the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration confirming on Sunday that it would meet with officials from the two countries this month to advance migrants’ rights.

Iskandar Maula, director of overseas workers at the ministry, said it would be involved in memorandum of understanding (MoU) discussions with both governments this month, with the first priority reaching an agreement with Malaysia.

“I think we can finish the talks with Malaysia this month, that’s the target. But I think we will need more time for Kuwait,” Iskandar said.

“We have sent a letter to the Kuwait government stating that we are ready to welcome them here in Indonesia this month to talk about the MoU.”

Iskandar said it was very important to reach agreement with Kuwait because many Indonesian workers had been unable to leave the Middle Eastern nation when they had problems with their employers.

Communication has been an issue between Indonesian representatives and employers in Kuwait, Iskandar said. Even when the Indonesian Embassy in Kuwait asked for meetings with employers, they rarely showed up, he said.

Indonesia would ask Kuwait for the same type of worker protections it was asking from Malaysia, including giving workers the right to retain their passportsand regulations to governing minimum wage and leave, he said.

In June, the Indonesian government stopped the flow of domestic helpers, construction workers and plantation hands into Malaysia, following several reports of abuse. Indonesia also demanded revisions to a 2006 labor agreement.

In September, the government also stopped migrant workers from traveling to Kuwait after an increasing number of reports of workers having problems there.

In August, however, the ministry announced that Malaysia had agreed to a minimum monthly wage of 600 ringgit ($175) for Indonesian maids and other migrant workers in the informal sector.

The Malaysian authorities also gave the green light for Indonesian migrant workers to retain possession of their passports while working there, the ministry said.

It is estimated that there are six million Indonesian migrant workers overseas, with two million in Malaysia. Only around 1.2 million of them hold legal documents, according to the Manpower Ministry.

In Kuwait, there are tens of thousands of Indonesian migrant workers, Iskandar said.

In November, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said negotiations with Malaysia would be finished soon and that the ministry would allow Indonesian migrant workers to travel there again early this year.

He is optimistic the ministry will meet its current target. There were several teams working on negotiating the MoUs, he said.

“So no problem, we can work on Malaysia and Kuwait at the same time.”

Wahyu Susilo, a public policy analyst for the advocacy group Migrant Care, told the Jakarta Globe that setting up an MoU with Kuwait was very important because its government didn’t currently have any regulations in place to protect migrant workers from Indonesia or elsewhere.

“I think the government needs to work, not only on Kuwait but also on Saudi Arabia. We also don’t have an MoU with Malaysia yet,” he said.

Wahyu also said the government has never made any of its MoU agreements public. It was important for the ministry to open its discussions to the public, he said.