REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The government of Indonesia wants to include construction workers in the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJEPA), considering their potential in Japan.

Head of the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI) Nusron Wahid said here on Thursday that migrant workers whose employments are covered under the government-to-government (G-to-G) scheme are more protected.

According to the BNP2TKI, more than 40 thousand Indonesian migrant workers are employed in the construction sector in Japan at present, but they still work as apprentices.

"Unfortunately, they are still apprenticed. While their workload is the same as those of Japanese nationals employed in the construction sector, our citizens receive half their pay," Wahid pointed out.

He added that an apprentice migrant worker in Japan earned only some Rp18 million, while those working under the G-to-G scheme received twice the figure.

Moreover, Wahid noted that the Japanese government needed more construction workers in large scale to prepare for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

"We received information that they (Japan) need at least 80 thousand construction workers," he revealed.

This number, Wahid explained, indicates huge potential for Indonesia to send more skilled workers in the construction sector.

Therefore, the BNP2TKI, Manpower Ministry and Foreign Affairs Ministry have been collaborating to ensure that the construction workers are included in the G-to-G scheme.

"We are striving to achieve our target as soon as possible," Wahid emphasized.

Since 2008, Indonesia has sent 1,513 nurses and caregivers to Japan through the IJEPA scheme.

This year, the BNP2TKI sent 278 nurses and caregivers to work in Japan for three years.

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