The Indonesian government has dismissed as meaningless an agreement to implement from March 1 a new ‘unified contract' for recruiting Indonesians to work in Saudi Arabia. The “unified contract” signed between the Saudi Arabian National Recruitment Committee (Sanarcom) and Indonesia Labor Supplies Association (APJATI) has no meaning as the two organizations represent neither the Saudi nor Indonesian government, said Adi Dzulfuad, Third Secretary at the Indonesia Embassy's Consular Section. Sanarcom comes under Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CSCCI) and APJATI has no official status in Indonesia. “The Indonesian government has raised the basic minimum salary to SR800 for maids and SR1,000 for drivers in Oct. 2007, and no Indonesian worker can come to work here without the endorsement of such a contract by its mission in Riyadh and its Consulate in Jeddah,” Dzulfuad said. Recruitment to Saudi Arabia will be only on the basis on this employment contract drawn up by Indonesian government, Dzulfuad said, adding however that the Saudi government has not approved any fixed basic minimum salary for Indonesian domestic helpers. Wishnu Krisnamurthi of the Consular Section at the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh, said the Indonesian government had not authorized APJATI to negotiate or sign any agreements on its behalf. He said in faxed statement that Indonesia is seeking “a mutually beneficial agreement” on recruitment, “which respects humanity, laws and regulations of both countries.” The Indonesian government's position is that Saudi employers must apply the terms of Oct. 2007 employor-employee contract that clearly mentions the basic minimum salary, well before recruiting Indonesian domestic helpers for work in Saudi Arabia. The contract should stipulate free (“properly furnished”) accommodation, food and healthcare, Dzulfuad said. Also employers must get these contracts endorsed by the Indonesian mission in the Kingdom. The Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh and its Consulate Office in Jeddah have been endorsing employment contracts since June 2005, when the monthly basic minimum salary for domestic helpers was SR600, Dzulfuad said. He said the APJATI-Sanarcom contract was an attempt to undermine the role of Indonesian government's foreign missions and respect of law. The unauthorized “unified contract” fails to mention any basic minimum salary and offers no legal protection to the workers in case of labor disputes, he said. It simply mentions that domestic workers will be protected by Saudi labor law, “when in fact there is no specific law for domestic helpers in Saudi Arabia,” Dzulfuad said. At least 11 labor disputes are reported daily to the Embassy, he said, adding that around 84 percent of the labor disputes are related to delayed salary, while other problems include physical abuse and sexual harassment. Around 12,000 Indonesian domestic helpers are recruited on a monthly basis to work in Saudi Arabia. In Riyadh and Jeddah, the Indonesian missions are maintaining a database on all Indonesian workers coming to work in Saudi Arabia. “The database is very helpful in tracking the Saudi employers in case of any disputes,” Dzulfuad said. There are around 650,000 Indonesian workers, mostly domestic helpers in Saudi Arabia. A tiny percentage of Indonesians are skilled workers employed in sectors such as telecommunication and the oil industry, where they are well protected by the Saudi labor law.
