(Bloomberg) — Indonesia is set to sign an agreement to lift its decade-long moratorium on sending citizens to Saudi Arabia as domestic workers and formal sector employees, following assurances of stricter labor protections from the Gulf nation.
A memorandum of understanding to facilitate the legal placement of migrant workers will be signed by ministers from both countries later this month in Jeddah, according to Migrant Workers Protection Minister Abdul Kadir Karding.
“After ensuring that Saudi Arabia’s labor protection system has improved sufficiently, we will reopen the program,” he said in a text message to Bloomberg on Saturday.
The world’s third-largest democracy had previously banned labor migration to several Middle Eastern countries over concerns about mistreatment. However, the moratorium faced criticism for loopholes that have allowed a steady flow of undocumented workers amid high regional demand.
More than 25,000 undocumented domestic workers still enter Saudi Arabia illegally each year, Karding said. Working abroad is an economic lifeline for Indonesians grappling with poverty and unemployment at home. Indonesia’s migrant worker agency received about 186 complaints from workers in Saudi Arabia over the past year, making it one of the top five destinations with the highest number of grievances, data showed.
This time, the Saudi government is offering as many as 600,000 job openings, including about 400,000 for domestic workers and 200,000 for formal sector jobs, Karding said. The new agreement will also include stronger labor protections, such as a minimum monthly wage of around 1,500 riyals ($399) or 6.5 million rupiah — higher than Jakarta’s minimum wage.
The agreement will also enhance workers’ rights, tighten oversight of employers and recruitment agencies, and if signed quickly, could allow the country to resume sending hundreds of thousands of workers to Saudi Arabia in June. The program is projected to generate about 31 trillion rupiah ($1.89 billion) annually in remittances.
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