Malaysia Agrees on Wages, Passport Concession for Indonesian Workers

Malaysia has agreed on a minimum monthly wage for Indonesian maids and other migrant workers in the informal sector, a key demand of Indonesia during ongoing negotiations on a new labor agreement.

“Six hundred ringgit is the minimum range. It’s about equal to our migrant workers’ standard salary in Yemen, which is about $180,” said Sumardoko, a spokesman for the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, adding that the sides will wrap up negotiations on a new memorandum of understanding during a meeting on Sept. 5.

He said the Malaysian side also agreed during the latest round of talks in Kuala Lumpur last week to Indonesia’s request to let its migrant workers keep possession of their passports while working there. This change will enable Indonesians to leave an abusive employer more easily and return home if they run into problems.

In June, the Indonesian government suspended the sending of new domestic helpers, construction workers and plantation hands to Malaysia following public outrage over the case of an Indonesian maid who had been tortured for three years by her Malaysian employer. Indonesia also demanded revisions to a 2006 labor agreement.

Sumardoko said the passport rule will mean Indonesia’s migrants should no longer have problems with the Malaysian police or immigration authorities.

“Wherever they go, they will have their documents to prove they are legal,” he said. “If they face other problems, such as disagreements with their employers or if their contracts are terminated before completion, they still hold their own documents.”

There are currently about two million migrant workers in Malaysia, Indonesian’s top destination for migrant workers, but only 1.2 million of them hold legal documents.

Around 60 percent of Indonesian migrant workers who travel overseas face problems including physical abuse and not being paid. There are currently 4.3 million Indonesians working across Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

Sumardoko said the ministry had asked for a minimum wage equal to that of Malaysian workers, but he said the country did not have a minimum pay scale for informal workers.

Nonetheless, Wahyu Susilo, a public policy analyst at Migrant Care, an Indonesian nongovernmental organization, said 600 Malaysian ringgit ($170) is small compensation for the daily workload. He said the central government should have compared salaries of migrant workers from other countries with those working in Malaysia before agreeing on a figure.

Sumardoko responded by saying that many migrant workers in Malaysia currently earn less than the negotiated wage. “On average ­they now earn around Rp 1.25 million [$125].”

Sumardoko said both countries would also establish a monitoring team of Indonesian and Malaysian representatives.

According to the Ministry of Manpower, the minimum wage was the last hurdle in the negotiations. The two sides had already agreed that workers would get one day off a week, annual leave, contract security and health and life insurance.