REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA A member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives Muhammad Iqbal has urged government institutions and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to prioritize hiring Indonesian workers. "Many Indonesians are looking for decent job opportunities," Iqbal stated here on Monday.

The statement was made in response to Riau's provincial manpower office finding 98 illegal workers from China employed by a coal-fired power plant in Riau on Tuesday.

The lawmaker urged the government to create jobs as part of the efforts to reduce unemployment. "The ministry of SOEs should issue a warning to them to not hire unskilled foreign laborers. Meanwhile, manual jobs can be given to Indonesians," he affirmed.

Moreover, the foreign workers should possess work permits. The Chinese, holding tourist visas, worked for PLTU Tenayan Raya, a sub-district of Tenayan Raya, in the Riau capital city. "We just conducted a routine inspection and found 98 foreign workers having no work permits," Rasyidin Siregar, head of the provincial manpower office, stated here on Tuesday.

Siregar noted that there were several Chinese working at the power plant, and almost all of them had no work permits.  "There are only five holding work permits, while the rest had only tourist visas," he revealed.

Siregar said he had coordinated with the immigration office to take necessary steps against the illegal workers.  The presence of several Chinese workers in the country has become a matter of public debate. The government's policy of visa-free travel, or visa on arrival, for visitors from some 170 countries, including China, has been blamed for the increase in the number of illegal workers from China in the country.

Also read: Indonesian labor union to sue govt over foreign workers

There are growing calls to revoke the policy amid widespread rumors that more than 10 million Chinese have worked in Indonesia at a time when the country is struggling to reduce unemployment.

The government, however, has dismissed the rumors as hoax, saying the policy is aimed at drawing more tourists to the country. "That is a hoax. We have too many hoaxes circulating now. I would like to challenge you to show me data about 10 million foreign workers here, even 1 million illegal workers," Law and Human Rights Minister Yasona Laoly stated.

The minister said based on data at the Labor Ministry, some 21,000 foreign workers from China hold temporary stay permits in Indonesia.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika