No Indonesian domestic helpers for Lebanon

Today, Al-Akhbar and As-Safir reported that Lebanon and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the 7th of this month related to migrant domestic workers, as noted in my previous blog post. According to the Indonesian News Agency, the MoU was signed by Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Muhaimin Iskandar and his Lebanese counterpart Boutros Harab in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday.

BUT, the Indonesian government declared that it will not allow for its citizens to work in Lebanon because it deems the security situation, namely in South Lebanon, unfavorable.

Below is Al-Akhbar's short article, and the original full length Antara (Indonesian News Agency) article.

إندونيسيا لا ترسل عمالاً إلى لبنان... الأسباب أمنية

أعلنت الحكومة الإندونيسية أمس أنها لم تتخذ بعد قراراً بإرسال خدم إلى لبنان «لأن الوضع الأمني في ذاك البلد ليس ملائماً حتى الساعة»، وفق ما جاء في خبر نشرته وكالة «يو بي آي».
نقلت وكالة الأنباء الإندونيسية «أنتارا» عن مديرة قسم العمال الإندونيسيين المهاجرين في وزارة العمل والهجرة روستيا واتي قولها «رغم أن لبنان آمن للعمال الإندونيسيين المهاجرين، فإن النزاعات ما زالت تستعر في الأجزاء الجنوبية من البلد».
وكانت الحكومتان اللبنانية والإندونيسية قد وقعتا في 7 نيسان الجاري مذكرة تفاهم لتبادل العمال.

المصدر: جريدة الأخبار
عدد الخميس ١٥ نيسان ٢٠١٠
http://www.al-akhbar.com/ar/node/185524

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - April 14 2010 - The Indonesian government will not yet send its domestic helpers to Lebanon as the security situation in that country is not yet favorable.

"We have not yet opened opportunities to send our housemaids to Lebanon. While Lebanon is already safe for the placement of Indonesian migrant workers, the conflicts were still raging in the southern parts of that country, so that for their own safety, we have not decided to send our domestic helpers to that country," Director of Overseas Placement of Indonesian Migrant Workers of the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, Roostiawati said in Jakarta Tuesday.

Roostiawati said the MoU between Indonesia and Lebanon merely dealt with Indonesian migrant workers employed in the formal sector.

Earlier, the Indonesian and Lebanese governments signed an MoU on the exchange of workers.

The MoU was signed by Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Muhaimin Iskandar and his Lebanese counterpart Boutros Harab in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday (April 7).

According to Minister Muhaimin Iskandar in a press statement Friday, the MoU was a step forward since Indonesia did not declare Lebanon as a country for the placement of Indonesian migrant workers.

"With the MoU, Lebanon has become one of the countries in the Middle East for the placement of Indonesian migrant workers," he said.

Besides the placement of Indonesian migrant workers, the minister said the protection
of the migrant workers also received special attention.

"Indonesia is committed to send its workers to Lebanon. The Lebanese government, in this case its labour ministry, is therefore expected provide Indonesian with information on the employment opportunities in the formal sector," he said.

Lebanon has a big market potential for Indonesian skilled migrant workers.Lebanon, where the tourism industry is a priority sector, was in need of at least 40 thousand workers each year.

More high-rise office buildings, hotels and residential complexes are being built by the government and businesspeople in Lebanon, so that the country needs thousands of workers. The country also needed nurses and paramedics as well as workers for the oil and gas industry.