Mataram (W Nusa Tenggara), May 08: At least 118 Indonesian female workers have been jailed in Saudi Arabia for involvement in various problems, even as the Indonesian government stepped up efforts for their repatriation, a minister in the Megawati government has said. "Through the Indonesian Embassy in that country, we will certainly ask for the repatriation of those female workers," manpower and transmigration minister Jacob Nuwa Wea told reporters after attending a reunion ceremony of Mataram-based Agricultural Development School's (SPP) alumni, here yesterday.
Jacob said female workers serving their term in jails in Middle East were sent there through illegally and no recruitment agency had offered protection to their workers.
"To prevent any practice of prostitution by female workers in middle eastern countries, it is expected that migrant workers should be sent through the legal mechanism," he said.
The minister also asked the recruitment agencies not to send illiterate workers to foreign lands as they were liable to face communication problems while dealing with their employers.
The Indonesian government on May one had lifted the ban and permitted Indonesian women to serve as house helpers in Saudi arabia. Bureau Report