REFLEKSI: Beberapa waktu silam diberitakan oleh pemerintah RI bahwa pada tahun mendatang akan diperbesar jumlah pengeriman TKW/TKI. Pengiriman ini diberi gelar pahlawan devisa yang tidak lain memperindah karakter sapi perahan yang sangat murah tanpa perlindungan hukum. Policy pengiriman yang dimaksudkan adalah tidak lain dari ketidakmampuan pemerintah untuk mengangkat tingkat kehidupan rakyat mayoritas dengan menciptakan sektor-sektor ekonomi dalam negeri yang dapat mengabsorvasi tenaga kerja sesuai dengan pertumbuhan demografi. Benarkah asumsi demikian?
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=90109&d=17&m=12&y=2006 Sunday, 17, December, 2006 (27, Dhul Qa`dah, 1427) HRW Aide Suggests Ways to End Maids' Suffering Mohammed Rasooldeen, Arab News RIYADH, 17 December 2006 - A senior researcher from the US-based group Human Rights Watch (HRW), who wrapped up a three-week tour to the Kingdom on Friday, said that the domestic labor problems in the Kingdom could be greatly reduced if the manpower-exporting countries send servants who were orientated before their departures. Nisha Varia, senior representative of the organization who was part of the four-member team, concentrated her study on the problems faced by the female domestic aides working in the Kingdom. During her brief stay, she met with the diplomats of the manpower-exporting countries, distressed housemaids, Labor Ministry officials, officials of the safe houses of foreign missions and concerned officials from government and nongovernmental organizations. Without disclosing the names of the countries, Varia said it was sad that some of these countries were sending domestic aides without proper orientation. "Some of the maids who come here not only do not know how to handle the household electronic appliances but they also do not know what they are meant for," she said. "This can be the beginning of problems between the employer and the employee." However, she pointed out, that in such a situation, the employer has the right to reject the employee and repatriate her to her home without harassing or detaining her without paying her monthly salary. "The monthly salary of the maidservant is a must and her salary cannot be withheld on any ground - that's her basic right," she said, adding that these domestic servants should be informed of their rights before being deployed to their jobs. Varia also emphasized the need for a work contract between the maid and the employer and this should ensure her basic rights and also it would indicate the obligations and the rights of the employer toward his employee. Of these labor-exporting countries, she said the Philippines had developed a durable system of dispatching well-trained domestic aides who can easily fit into Saudi homes due to their prior knowledge of their work environment in the Kingdom. "They are given proper orientation before they are sent here," she said. "The Kingdom is home to a large number of foreign workers... it is in a strategic position to be an example to other countries by adjusting its system from it own experiences." She added that it will take at least four months for her to prepare a report on the study and she hopes to present it to the Saudi government as soon as she completes it. She also thanked the Saudi authorities for their support and assistance that helped her carry out her assignment successfully in the Kingdom. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
