Migrant workers deceived, stranded in Bandung

Yuli Tri Suwarni , The Jakarta Post , Bandung | Sat, 04/19/2008 12:26 PM

Hundreds of migrant workers who paid a total of Rp 5 billion (US$541,000) to secure jobs and transportation to South Korea are now stranded in Bandung, West Java, and seeking justice.

The 320 workers, who come from villages in Central and West Java, have filed complaints with the relevant local authorities, with the assistance of the Bandung Legal Aid Institute (LBH Bandung).

The workers said justice had been miscarried as their money had not been returned to them, while those who attempted "to smuggle" them overseas were charged only with criminal deceit.

"We are disappointed with the way the police are handling the case and with the local manpower and transmigration office for giving no response to the workers. They have been stranded for months in the city without any certainty over their fate," Purwanto, representing the workers, said here recently.

Purwanto, a 27-year-old resident of Losari, Brebes, Central Java, said he paid Rp 20 million to the Bannua Foundation, which recruited the workers to work in South Korea for a starting salary, it claimed, of Rp 8 million per month.

"I was interested because ... I had worked in Saudi Arabia for four years for a monthly wage of only Rp 2.8 million. I accepted the foundation's offer because it pledged I would be paid more," he said, adding he paid Rp 10 million to a sponsor to facilitate his departure to the Middle East in 2003.

Purwanto said the deceit was uncovered when he and other workers underwent a Korean proficiency test at the University of Indonesia in Depok.

The test organizers found that our test numbers had been falsified, he said.

"I went back to Bandung but was unable to meet with the foundation's management. After a week-long check, I discovered the foundation was not a recruitment agency, but rather had a permit from the local manpower and transmigration office to run a Korean language short-course."

Mujianto and three other workers from Cilacap said they paid Rp 15 million each to the foundation, which pledged they would be employed in Korea for a monthly wage of Rp 8 million.

"In the past we worked on construction projects with a daily wage of Rp 30,000. We were interested in working in Korea because of the high salary offered. That is why we sold our assets in Cilacap to pay the foundation. If our departure is suspended, we want our money back," he said.

He said his older brother Muji was employed at a forklift factory in Korea for a monthly salary of Rp 16 million.

Canggih Pribadi from the legal institute's labor division criticized the police for charging foundation chairman Salifi Rachman and his assistant Ade Komaruddin with deception instead of smuggling.

"The police should have used Law No. 39/2004 on the placement and protection of migrant workers to uphold justice in this case. The law has a maximum life sentence and a fine of Rp 5 billion, and should have been used to force the smugglers to return the workers' money," he said.

Parsaoran Sirait from the legal aid foundation blamed the manpower and transmigration office for not distributing information on procedures for working overseas.

"Manpower and transmigration authorities have distributed information on the required legal procedures to brokers and labor exporters only. The police are uninformed about the labor laws," he said.

He called on either the police or manpower authorities to force the foundation to return the money collected and to impose harsh sanctions against the foundation.