Indonesia plans to bring back all of its workers from Jordan after presidential election scheduled on July 8, Foreign Ministry told a press briefing on Friday.

On Thursday, 24 of 385 Indonesian workers in the Gulf country were repatriated by a Thai Airways flight.

Their arrival was facilitated by the ministry coordinated with related institutions, namely Labor and Transmigration Ministry and Indonesian Worker Protection Agency in Overseas (BNP2TKI). They will be brought to their hometowns by buses arranged by the institutions.

"We can't send them at once due to limitation of our budget to charter a plane. That's why they will be brought home gradually," said Teuku Faizasyah.

The workers were considered having problems related to crime and abuse by their employers.

"Frankly, they are big burden for Indonesian embassy in Amman, Jordan. The most important is that they have to be repatriated as soon as possible and they obtain their rights of salary. Currently, we accumulate their salary from their employers, and the amount is quite big," he said without mentioning the precise figures.

Apart from Jordan, Indonesian workers also have problems in Malaysia, prompting the government to temporarily stop sending them.

"I think the moratorium should be extended to one year to increase our bargaining power," he said.

The ministry also demanded the government of Malaysia to provide one day off for the workers that mostly are employed in informal sectors, like household maids.

"Our request is not exaggerated because the International Labor Organization (ILO)'s standard requires all informal sectors workers to be provided a day-off. It's not a special request," said Faizasyah.

Indonesian Labor and Transmigration Ministry, facilitated by the Foreign Ministry, will negotiate the terms with Malaysia next week.

Source: Xinhua