REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Vice President Jusuf Kalla asked for stopping delivery of women workers who work as domestic assistants in other countries. Instead, Vice President requested to Ministry of Employment to improve training of prospective skilled and professional workers to work abroad.

"The period in which we are sending workers as household assistants must immediately be ended," Kalla said, in Jakarta, Thursday (22/10).

Kalla explained the trend to become migrant women workers or household assistants in other countries was begun 20 years ago with the reason that the value of salaries in Indonesia was much lower than in the Middle East countries. At that time, salary as household assistants in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia was four times greater than in Indonesia.

"At that time salary of household assistants was only Rp 500 thousand, while in Malaysia was 600 ringgit, nearly 3 million US dollar. Now, the salary of experienced household assistants already reached Rp 2 million. So becoming migrant workers in Saudi Arabia is not much different (in term of salary)," he explained.

Moreover, working as maids in Saudi Arabia is not as comfortable as in Indonesian. In Saudi Arabia, women workers are required to stay at home.  

Therefore, policies and regulations to send women workers as maids to abroad must be stopped. Furthermore, said the Vice President, Ministry of Employment need to provide training to experts and professionals of Indonesian workers who will work abroad.

"The presence of government through Nawacita, in the field of labor, is to train and improve quality," he added.

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