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Headlines

The Ecosoc News Monitor

18 October 2006

24 Perusahaan Penempatan Buruh Migran Ditutup

TEMPO Interaktif
18 Oktober 2006

Jakarta: Direktur Kelembagaan Departemen Tenaga Kerja dan Transmigrasi Muji Handoyo menyatakan ada 24 perusahaan penempatan buruh migran terancam ditutup karena tidak mendaftar ulang. "Yang sudah mendaftar ulang 447 dari 471 perusahaan," kata Muji, Rabu.

Departemen Tenaga Kerja mewajibkan seluruh perusahaan penempatan tenaga kerja mendaftar ulang untuk penyesuaian Surat Izin Pelayanan Penempatan dengan UU 39/2004 tentang penempatan dan perlindungan tenaga kerja. Pemerintah mewajibkan perusahaan menyertakan jaminan deposito senilai Rp 500 juta dan aset Rp 3 miliar. Registrasi dibuka sejak 1 Mei-17 Oktober 2006.

Menurut Muji, meski ada 447 perusahaan yang telah mendaftar ulang, belum tentu semuanya lolos dan mendapat izin penempatan. Berkas-berkasnya akan diverifikasi oleh tim dari Departemen Tenaga Kerja. Tim juga akan mengecek validitas aset yang dicantumkan, uang jaminan, Balai Latihan Kerja, dan penampungan.

Setelah verifikasi rampung, tim akan membahasnya dalam sidang pleno yang dipimpin langsung oleh menteri. Rencananya, pleno akan dilakukan pada akhir November 2006. Sidang pleno itu yang akan menentukan perusahaan lolos atau tidak untuk mendapatkan SIPP.

Ketua Umum Asosiasi Perusahaan Tenaga Kerja (Apjati) Husein Alaydrus menuding adanya upaya pemberangusan perusahaan penempatan buruh migran melalui kewajiban pendaftaran ulang itu. "Kebijakan itu upaya mematikan usaha perusahaan," ujarnya.

Ia memastikan jika ada 200 perusahaan yang dicabut izinnya, maka sekitar 10 ribu calon buruh migran yang gagal diberangkatkan dengan asumsi masing-masing perusahaan menempatkan 50 buruh per bulan. Selain itu akan ada 2000 karyawan yang diberhentikan jika tiap perusahaan mempekerjakan 10 karyawan.

Nur Aini

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12 October 2006

[Didin Sobih —Brunei] Tenaga Kerja Asal Cianjur Tewas di Brunei Darussalam

TEMPO Interaktif
12 Oktober 2006

Cianjur: Isak tangis dan jeritan histeris mewarnai kedatangan jenazah Didin Sobih, 47 tahun. Tenaga kerja Indonesia asal Kampung Sukamulya, Desa Sukamulya, Kecamatan Sukaluyu Kabupaten Cianjur, Jawa Barat, itu tewas dalam kecelakaan kerja di Lamunin, Brunei Darusalam.

Jenazah tiba kemarin pukul 14.30 WIB dengan menggunakan ambulans Rumah Sakit Tangerang. Yuyum, 42 tahun, istri almarhum, tak kuasa menahan tangis saat peti mati suaminya dibuka. Ketiga anak almarhum, Mumun, Bahar dan Irfan, termanggu sambil mencucurkan air mata di depan jasad ayahnya. "Allahu Akbar..., Akang kunaon jadi kieu? (Akang, kenapa bisa begini?)" teriak Yuyum.

Menurut Dede Koswara, adik Didin, almarhum meninggal Selasa pekan lalu. Almarhum sempat dirawat di Rumah Sakit Raja Istri Pangeran Anak Sholehah Bandar Seri Begawan. "Kurang lebih enam bulan kakak saya menjadi buruh bangunan di Brunei," tutur Dede.

Dede yang juga bekerja di tempat yang sama dengan almarhum mengungkapkan, Didin berangkat ke Brunei Darussalam tidak melalui jasa perusahaan pengerah tenaga kerja. Keberangkatan korban untuk yang kedua setelah dua tahun bekerja di tempat yang sama.

Menurut Syariffudin, Kepala Perwakilan RI di Brunei Darussalam, yang memproses pemulangan korban ke Indonesia, penyebab meninggalnya Didin murni kecelakaan kerja. Syariffudin menambahkan, pihaknya hanya berkewajiban menyerahkan korban ke pihak keluarga di Cianjur. "Kematian korban murni karena kecelakaan dan tidak ada unsur lain yang ditemukan pihak kami," ujarnya.

Deden Abdul Aziz

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10 October 2006

Indonesian maid arrested in HK for trying to photograph ailing actress

Sina English, HK/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
2006-10-08 02:11:50

HONG KONG, Oct. 10 (AP) -- An Indonesian maid has been arrested in Hong Kong for allegedly trying to photograph ailing veteran actress Lydia Sum at a hospital for her employer -- an editor at a local magazine -- police said Sunday.

The 24-year-old female maid, who was not identified, was arrested after being found loitering in the intensive care unit at Hong Kong's Queen Mary Hospital last Sunday, police spokeswoman Annisa Chan said.

Ming Pao Daily News reported Saturday that police found photography equipment attached to the maid's shoulder. It wasn't clear if she had already taken pictures.

Chan said the domestic helper will be charged with allegedly photographing a public hospital patient without obtaining his or her consent, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of three months' imprisonment and a fine of 2,000 Hong Kong dollars (US$257; €204) on conviction.

She said police are still investigating, and that the maid is due to appear in court Friday.

News and entertainment magazine Eastweek said in a statement the maid, who works for one of its editors, entered Sum's hospital room. Sum is reportedly suffering from liver cancer.

The magazine apologized for and condemned the incident, saying in the statement the newspaper's management wasn't aware of the maid's tactics.

"The magazine doesn't approve of anyone entering Fat Sister's hospital room for reporting purposes, even if it's to verify whether she is critically ill," the statement said, using Sum's nickname.

Ming Pao Daily News Sunday quoted Eastweek as saying "the editor linked to the incident," identified by Ming Pao as deputy editor in chief Wong Ching-ning, has been suspended pending the result of the police investigation.

Calls to Eastweek Sunday went unanswered.

The maid's arrest marks the second high-profile paparazzi-related controversy in recent months.

Easy Finder magazine, one of Eastweek's rivals, sparked a backlash in late August by running a cover photo showing singer Gillian Chung, a member of the Hong Kong female pop duo Twins, changing backstage at a concert in Malaysia's Genting Highlands.

Jackie Chan led a protest against the magazine, and Hong Kong's Obscene Articles Tribunal classified it "indecent," a ruling Easy Finder has appealed. Publications classified as indecent in Hong Kong need to be sealed in plastic wrapping and display a warning that the item can't be sold to people under 18 _ conditions Easy Finder didn't meet.

Hong Kongers are obsessed with celebrities in this small but vibrant hub for Chinese-language entertainment. The demand for news about celebrities and their inability to hide in densely populated Hong Kong has made for an often tense relationship between the stars and the entertainment press.

Hong Kong's Law Reform Commission has proposed the criminalization of surveillance conducted by private parties in March, but the government hasn't moved on the proposal.

Eastweek, under different ownership, was shut down amid the backlash after publishing on its cover a photo of a visibly distressed, seminude female star, widely reported to be Carina Lau, in October 2002.

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