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Pursuant to the 1945 Constitution, Article 27 clauses (2) the development of manpower aims to provide jobs and business opportunities for the working population to enable them to have jobs and earn their proper living. Furthermore, the 1999-2004 Broad Outlines of State Policy stipulates that the comprehensive and integral development of manpower aims to improve the competency and self-capacity of manpower, better wage, secure the welfare of manpower, and to protect manpower and the freedom to associate. In addition, the Policy also envisages the improvement of quantity and quality of manpower to work abroad by taking into account their competency, legal protection, and legal defense which are managed integrally to prevent the emerging of manpower exploitation.

Based on the policy there are various programs introduced, including: expansion and development of job opportunities scheme; improvement of quality and productivity of manpower scheme; program of social security system development; and social insurance program.

unemployment in 2002 numbered eight million people, and the figure increased to 9.5 million people in 2003, with some 59.68 percent of them was of lower level education and the remaining 40.32 percent of higher level education. The total number of unemployment in 2004 is estimated at 10.8 million people.

EXPANSION AND DEVELOPMENT OF JOB AND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

The main aims of the scheme are: to reduce unemployment and disguised unemployment through adding working hours in various business fields, both at rural and urban areas; and augment foreign exchange earnings through the sending of Indonesian workers abroad. Meanwhile, the goals of the scheme are: to expand job opportunities in various fields of business; to develop Indonesian workers who are qualified and capable; and to set up an excellent manpower information system.

The major activities of the scheme include: (1) to improve trainings with curriculum related to acknowledging efficient technology, entrepreneurship development, and other supporting skills and expertise in order to make the work force capable of creating job opportunities; (2) to prepare and disseminate information on job market; (3) to set up settlements for new inter-island migration to expand job opportunities in agriculture; and (4) to improve the mechanism of the sending, guidance and selection of Indonesian workers who want to work abroad, and seek out their protection.

In striving for the expansion and development of job and business opportunities, the Government in July 2004 launched a National Campaign for the Handling of Unemployment, which involved leading figures of central, provincial and district administrations, business representatives and representatives from higher learning institutions. The campaign aims to nurture sensibility and awareness of government apparatus and members of society to seek a solution to overcome the growing unemployment.

Under the campaign scheme, in 2003 there were 4,344 job seekers employed under the placement program of Professional Independent Young Manpower (PIYM)/Volunteer Manpower (VM), 4,930 job seekers under the placement program of Educated Independent Manpower (EIM), 4,885 job seekers under the labor-intensive scheme, 8,419 job seekers under Expanded Labor-Intensive scheme, 98,602 job seekers under scheme of Inter-regional Manpower Placement (IrMP), Local Manpower Placement (LMP), and of Special Manpower Placement (InMP), as well as another 293,867 workers getting jobs abroad. The number of job seekers placement in 2003 showed an increasing trend compared to that of 2002. Up to May 2004, the number of job seekers getting placement under the scheme of PIYM/VM was 210, under EIM scheme 248, under labor-intensive scheme 457, under expanded labor-intensive scheme 1,300, and under schemes of IrMP, LMP and InMP 9,883, and the placement of Indonesian workers abroad totaled 18,753.

IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY AND PRODUCTIVITY SCHEME

The scheme is aimed at encouraging, popularizing, and improving trainings and all aspects that affect productivity enhancement. The chief target of this scheme is the availability of work force having good quality, high productivity and high competitive edge both in domestic and international market.

The main activities under the scheme include: the development of competency standardization and certification done through the formation of an institution dealing with competency standardization and certification; the betterment of relevancy, quality, and efficiency of the job-trainings organized by the Government as well as private institutions; and the promotion of the system and method of productivity improvement.

Under the scheme, in 2003 there had been 14,800 people consisting of job seekers, employees, social workers, leading figures of communities and non-government organizations, attending institutional trainings and 20,485 people of the same professions attending non-institutional trainings; 1,088 people undergoing training for on-the-job-training abroad and 2,183 people undergoing apprenticeship abroad; 1,225 people undergoing training of trainers; 2,764 people taking part in entrepreneurship training. Up to May 2004, there were 1,993 people undergoing institutional trainings, and 2,521 people undergoing non-institutional trainings; 171 people undergoing job-trainings at home, and 171 people undergoing on the job-training abroad; 258 undergoing training for trainers; 820 persons attending entrepreneurship trainings and 123 persons attending training on institutional productivity development.

Up to April 2004 there had been 167 institutions organizing training for workers who wanted to work overseas. The number of Indonesian workers who had overseas placement from January up to May 2004 was 106,499. During the past three years the number of Indonesian workers who had been placed overseas totaled 1,069,406, some 75.38 percent of them working in non-formal sector and the remaining in formal economic activities. The sending of Indonesian workers to the Middle East countries had been handled by 171 service companies and to Asia-Pacific region by 233 service companies.

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

There is a program designed to maintain a working and business tranquility in order to create harmonious relations between employees and employers that in turn will improve the welfare of employees and their families. This program is aimed at improving labor institutions in companies, enhancing working conditions, and healthy vocational security.

The main activities of the program are: to promote industrial relations and labor protection in order to encourage the formation of labor institutions in companies; to improve vocational safety and health, and social security for improvement of labors welfare; to enhance protection, control, and law enforcement of regulations imposed on labors; to improve obedience over the implementation of regulations on labors; to follow up various regulations of the ILO Convention on Labor Protection, which has been ratified.

Under this scheme, in 2003 there were 14,630 persons attending training courses on Communications, Information and Education (CIE), 3,200 persons taking trainings on Manpower Institutional Development (MID), 22,530 persons having guidance on Job Requirements and Labor Welfare (JRLW), 1,745 persons on Employment Protection and Industrial Relations Control (EPIRC). In addition, some 160 cases of industrial disputes and lay-off were settled; company regulations for 36,210 enterprises were drawn; and 9,102 cooperation agreements were made. Also done under the scheme were the 14.76-percent increase of regional minimum wages and provision of Employees Social Security (locally known as Jamsostek) to 20.16 million workers working in 102,821 companies.

In 2004 (up to May 2004) there were 866 persons attending training courses on CIE; 1,876 persons taking training courses on MID, along with the settlement of industrial disputes and lay-off for 1,207 workers; the settlement of 63 cases of labor strikes and protests; the arrangements of company regulations for 36,269 enterprises; the composition of 9,118 joint cooperation agreements; and the 10.8-percent increase of regional minimum wages.

In the context of dealing with all matters of Indonesians working abroad particularly in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, and in helping them when they have problems involving legal cases, three Government Officials (attaches) have been currently commissioned and posted in those countries. More similar attaches will be commissioned and posted in other countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Kuwait, and Taiwan.

So far memorandums of understanding (MoU) on the placement of Indonesian workers have been agreed and signed with Jordan (in 1996) and with Malaysia (in 2004). Similar MoUs with other countries such as Syria, Qatar, South Korea, Brunei Darussalam, and Taiwan are still under preparation.

SOCIAL SECURITY

Social security, as stipulated by the nation's Constitution, Article 28H clause (2), is the citizen's basic right. Further, the Constitution, through Article 34 clause (2), states that "the State shall develop a social security system for the whole Indonesian people…" Meanwhile, the International Labor Organization's Convention No. 102 of 1952 recommends all countries to provide protection to every worker. Parallel with this, the People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia, during its 2001 Annual Session commissioned the President of the Republic of Indonesia to establish a National Social Security System in the framework of granting the labor force a comprehensive and integrated social security.

This social security is necessary in protecting individual workers, their family members, as well as the communities from emergency conditions caused by among other things famine, natural disaster, accidents and social unrest that might disturb the people's earnings and supplies of foods.

Although still short of covering the communities, there has been a scheme locally known as Jamsostek. It is a social security scheme for employed workers. The operator of this social security scheme has been asked to expand its services, such as to provide its members with down-payment for credit of house mortgage, to build public facilities for religious houses of worship, for sports etc, and allowances for celebrating religious commemorations.

SOCIAL INSURANCE SCHEME

Scheme of social insurance, which are funded by individuals and companies, are designed to protect members and their families from unfavorable situations such as lay-off, work accidents, sick, and death. The schemes are also aimed at covering more and more number of people being protected by social insurance schemes.

In dealing with all social risks arising during the employment of Indonesian workers overseas or during preparation for the overseas placement at home, there has been arranged a scheme that will protect Indonesian workers working abroad through an insurance scheme pursuant to Decision of Minister for Manpower and Transmigration No. 157 of 2003. The insurance scheme consists of three kinds of programs such as : a) pre-placement program that secures insurance on death, maximum treatment, permanent deformity, and accident; b) on-going placement program that covers insurance on out- and in-work accident, sick treatment, death due to accident or sick, including the cost of burial/sending a corpse to his/her native hometown, unpaid wage, and lay-off ; and c) post-placement program that embraces insurance on death due to accident, and total paralysis caused by accident.

GLOBAL TREND

Liberalization of global trade will pose a tight competition among workers of all countries since it allows the traffic of workers from one country to another much more rapidly. It also will require professional workers, the criteria of which are set forth by developed countries. In facing this situation, it is time for Indonesian workers to adjust themselves to the criteria on each profession to be able to compete with professionals from other countries to fill in vacancies at domestic and international market. This is in line with Law No.13 of 2003, which stipulates among other things the improvement of Indonesian worker's ability and self-capacity to compete, and the utilization of expatriates.

Some professions the Indonesian workers have claimed international reputation for are among other things accountancy, oil drilling, construction, seamanship, nursing, and midwifery.