Indonesia denies prohibition on workers

Indonesia's representative office in Taipei yesterday denied Chinese-language media reports that the Indonesian government is to prohibit Indonesian workers, whose visas and work permits have already been processed, from coming to Taiwan.

"We await Jakarta's decision on the matter. But since Taiwan announced a halt in importing our workers, we haven't heard a word," said Budhi, director of the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office, in a phone interview with the Taipei Times yesterday.

Media reports

Chinese-language newspapers reported that the Indonesian government had stopped its workers from coming to Taiwan last Thursday, reacting to the Council of Labor Affairs' (CLA) decision to halt the importation of workers from Indonesia the previous day.

According to the reports, local brokers received a faxed statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration on Monday, which stated that Indonesian workers whose visas and work permits have been issued by Taiwan will not be permitted to come.

Liao Wei-jen (廖為仁), the official at the CLA handling the matter, said, "I have talked to someone at the representative office who confirmed the Indonesian government's action."

He added, "My friend, who understands Indonesian, translated the faxed documents for me, and we are pretty sure that's the Indonesian government's decision."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, told reporters that it had received no official notification about any such decision from the Indonesian government yesterday.

Reacting to the prohibition, Budhi, again, said "We have no idea about it at all."

The CLA however yesterday issued advice for Taiwanese employers expecting Indonesian workers who do not arrive and reiterated that its position on the matter remains unchanged.

CLA advice

The council advised such employers to lodge additional applications for permission to employ immigrant workers from other countries and to contact Taiwan's representative office in Jakarta to cancel the visa applications of their original would-be employees.

"We are still willing to talk to the Indonesian government, but the most important thing is that we receive clear proposals to solve the problems we have raised," Liao said.

The CLA, meanwhile, has also sought more caregivers -- the positions held by more than 80 percent of Indonesian workers in Taiwan -- from Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.

Serious problems

Yeh Mo-li (葉茉莉), a social worker at the Hope Workers' Center, a Taoyuan-based Catholic organization that has assisted many Indonesian immigrant workers, said that she supports a cessation in such imported workers until the two governments solve the existing problems.

"The problems are very serious. More than 50 Indonesian workers are detained in the Foreigners' Detention Center for absconding. A halt is necessary until they find a solution to their problems," Yeh said.

The council claims that the Indonesian government has made no attempt stop workers' leaving Taiwan or to lessen brokerage charges for workers, which are much higher than for workers of other nations.