Indonesia Gives Nod for Reopening of Migrant Workers’ Placement in Taiwan

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s Manpower Ministry plans to reopen the placement of migrant workers abroad, especially in Taiwan but under special conditions to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah said that her office has received a letter from Taiwan’s Labor Ministry regarding the migrant workers’ placement. One of the conditions mentioned that the number of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia must be below 5,000 per day for seven consecutive days.

“The government is determined to work hard to reduce the number of Covid-19 transmissions. Alhamdulillah [praise be to God], as of May 9, the number [of new Covid cases] continued to decline to 3,922. If we continue to press the number, the PMI [migrant worker] placement to Taiwan can be reopened soon,” said Ida in a press statement on Tuesday, May 11.

Also read: Migrant Worker Buried in Malaysia As Family Had No Money to Bring Her Body Home to Indonesia

Ida further added that the decision of reopening migrant worker placement in Taiwan was based on the meeting held by Taiwan’s Labor Ministry and its Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC). Besides, the Indonesian government has also taken necessary steps to renew the standard operating procedure for the migrant worker placement during the transition to the Covid-19 new normal. This includes the implementation of strict health protocol before migrant workers leaving for receiving countries.

“If the conditions required by Taiwan have been fulfilled, the Manpower Ministry will immediately inform Taiwan authorities as a basis for reopening the migrant worker placement,” the minister said.

In its preparation, the Manpower Ministry works closely with relevant agencies such as the migrant worker placement companies (P3MI) and associations based on the standard operating procedure.

Also read: Monitor All Returning Indonesian Migrant Workers during Pandemic, Jokowi Tells

“I will take firm action against P3MI if they don’t carry out the placement procedures and Migrant Workers’ Training Centers [BLKLN] if they don’t provide training for job seekers who will work abroad,” she said.

Indonesia’s statistics agency (BPS) recorded that Taiwan is the second biggest destination country for Indonesian migrant workers last year. A total of 79,574 Indonesian migrant workers were employed in Taiwan, while 79,662 others were employed in Malaysia. These figures only represented the number of documented migrant workers.

(Writers : Kiki Safitri, Muhammad Idris | Editors : Ambaranie Nadia Kemala Movanita, Muhammad Idris)

Sources: https://money.kompas.com/read/2021/05/11/102206726/kemenaker-beri-lampu-hijau-untuk-penempatan-pekerja-migran-ke-taiwan.

https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/05/04/100134726/minat-kerja-jadi-tki-di-taiwan-ini-kisaran-gajinya?page=all.