The Indonesian government is to provide migrant workers heading to South Korea with free cellphones, in a deal announced today that comes in cooperation with the local manufacturer PT Nurkumala Abadi, a subsidiary of South Korea-based LG.
The plan is an attempt to make Indonesia’s migrant workers – who work in tough industries, such as domestic services and heavy industry – safer and more comfortable when overseas. It is arguably a response to the recent furore across the country – and especially on social media – to the execution by beheading of an Indonesian maid in Saudi Arabia, who was accused of killing her Saudi employer.
According to The Jakarta Post today, the government minister responsible for migrant workers, Jumhur Hidayat, said:
It is highly expected that the cell phones will enable them to communicate with their family members and related government authorities in Indonesia more frequently. Let’s hope that this reduces the amount of problems faced by migrant workers.
To claim their free phone, the workers need only fill out a registration form in their home country, and then use the resultant coupon to get their phone once they’ve arrived in South Korea.
The deal will provide 8,000 to 10,000 mobile phones each year. In just the first half of this year nearly 3000 workers went to South Korea for work, making it likely that this year will see a surpassing of 2010’s number of 4000 overseas workers in Korea.
It is likely that this government initiative could be expanded to other countries, since a trial run has already equipped workers that were heading to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
[Source: Jakarta Post]
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