Singapore - Ade Makage can`t wait for every Sunday to roll around, as it is the day where she can meet fellow Indonesian migrant workers at Pasir Ris area in Singapore.
On Sundays, Ade, a female migrant worker (Tenaga Kerja Wanita, or TKW) from Mandao, gets to meet with her friends from an Indonesian fellowship club and enjoy leisure activities together.
One of the routine activities that members of the group enjoy is praying together at one of the biggest churches in Pasir Ris. Afterwards, the TKW stroll along the beach together while sharing stories.
The TKW, who are mostly maids, tell each share the ups and downs of working away from home.
Ade said she planned to stop working as a maid because she wanted to look for a new working experience.
"It`s possible that in the near future I will quit working as a maid because I know of an opening in another place as a waitress," Ade told her friends on one of their recent Sunday walks.
Ade said she was excited about the new work opportunity because the salary was higher: While working as a maid she was paid S$240 (Rp 1.9 million) per month. Meanwhile, the new position offered a salary of S$6 (Rp 47,000) per hour.
Suharti, a TKW from Solo, told her friends she was pleased to be working as a maid in Singapore because she received a bigger salary than that which she previously earned in Malaysia and Indonesia.
The mother of three said she could send money home every three months to cover her children`s school fees.
"Working here (in Singapore) I can collect money for my children`s education back home in our village," said Suharti, who previously worked as a maid in both Malaysia and Indonesia.
"It`s enough when compared with the salary I received when I worked in Malaysia and Indonesia, and I couldn`t save anything," she said.
Suharti said her current salary as a maid in Singapore was S$340 (Rp 2.7 million) per month. She added that she had not thought about returning to Indonesia just yet, because she wanted to continue working in Singapore to support her family.
Sundays are enjoyed by the members of other Indonesian fellowship clubs in Singapore.
Botol Panjaitan, one of the many Indonesian migrant workers employed by the industrial sector in Singapore, said there were many clubs for Indonesian people who worked in Singapore.
The 32-year-old said the Indonesian fellowship club in Singapore that had the largest number of members was IndoSing.
"IndoSing membership has now reached more than 1,000 people. The IndoSing members gather every Sunday and often communicate via chatting on the Internet," Panjaitan said.
Panjaitan, who has been working in Singapore for less than one year, said he had seen that the activities carried out by clubs for Indonesians who work in Singapore was positive, especially in improving relationships.
"The friendship of Indonesian workers in Singapore is so strong because they often communicate through the Internet and gather together in various places," said Panjaitan.
Singapore`s senior minister of state for foreign affairs, Zainul Abidin Rasheed, said the number of Indonesians working in Singapore had reached around 60,000. Most worked as maids, with the number of Indonesian citizens working as professionals in the country was still low.
"Singapore still needs workers from Indonesia. We hope that these will be professional people; this is important so they are able to compete with workers from other countries and Singapore citizens," Rasheed told The Jakarta Post recently.
Rasheed added that apart from being professional it was hoped that Indonesian workers would develop knowledge of the customs and daily lives of Singaporeans.
When asked about the number of Indonesian workers needed by Singapore, Rasheed said the quantity was unlimited because there were still many sectors, such as the industry sector, that needed professional workers.
Rasheed said that to protect foreign workers in Singapore, including those from Indonesia, his role was to ensure the application of the laws that guaranteed worker safety. "In recent months we have found some cases of violence towards foreign workers here, but all cases have been processed according to the legislation.
"We never tolerate situations where Singaporean citizens act roughly toward foreign workers," Rasheed said. Apriadi Gunawan
Source:
http://old.thejakartapost.com (November 25, 2008)
