Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government has vowed to improve the work contracts of Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia so that their rights are better ensured and they are protected from ill treatment.

The government`s commitment was indicated by Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar at a press briefing he held after leading a meeting at his ministry here Monday.

"We will improve the work contracts of our migrant workers. In the improved contracts, there will be such points as the plan of the employer`s house, access to communication facilities, and a weekly day off," he said.

In the new working contracts, an employer`s house is required to provide proper accommodation for domestic helpers. The workers would also be covered by health insurance and be enabled to have routine health checkups.

Muhaimin said the government had reviewed the placement of Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia following the recent cases of violence and inhumane treatment some of them had experienced.

"We will tighten the conditions for the despatch of migrant workers abroad and review the existing recruitment system."

"By doing so, we can make rational and objective assessments (of the recent cases of violence and maltreatment) so that the assessments will not disadvantage or compromise those who worked abroad successfully," he said.

Muhaimin further said that a moratorium on the despatch of Indonesian workers abroad would be a last resort if the situation in the receiving countries could no longer be tolerated.

Asked about the signing of a memorandum of understanding about migrant workers` protection with the Saudi Arabian government, he said it was not the only solution to improving the conditions of the workers.

"The signing of an Mou is not the only indicator (for improving the working conditions) because with Hong Kong and Taiwan , we also have no MoU but our workers there are okay," he said.

On the other hand, although Indonesia did have an MoU with Malaysia, it was no gurantee that Idonesian migrant workers there would free from problems, he said.

However, signing MoUs with other countries would be an entry point for Indonesia to improve the working conditions of its migrant workers in those countries, he said.

In this case, Indonesia was continuing to approach the Saudi Arabian government to make a draft MoU despite the fact that the Saudis had no MoU about labor with any country, he said.

"So if we do sign an MoU with Saudi Arabia, it will be the first time for the Saudis to have such an agreement with another country," he said.

Besides approaching the Saudi Arabian government, Muhaimin said, he would also approach Indonesian and Saudi manpower recruitment agencies because workers` placement was handled by the private sector.

"The MoU is not yet signed so that the alternative solution that we can pursue is managing the two countries` recruitment agencies to improve protection for our workers," he said.

Sumiati binti Salan Mustafa, an Indonesian domestic helper in Saudi Arabia, was recently tortured brutally by her employer and her case has attracted the attentions of the Indonesian government and people.

Muhammad Iqbal, spokesman of the Indonesian Union of Migrant Worrkers (UNIMIG), said the torture suffered by Sumiati was "the work of barbarians".

However, the Sumiati case was not the first to have happened with Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, he said.

"What happened to Sumiati is like the tip of an iceberg. The frequent acts of violence and exploitation against Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia is much higher than in other destination countries," he said.

Saudi Arabia currently employs 927,500 Indonesian migrant workers. making it the second biggest user of Indonesian manpwoer after Malaysia.(*)

Editor: Jafar M Sidik

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