A total of 222 Indonesian nationals have requested, for the time being, help from the association because they are on long-term unpaid leave, according to information provided to the Times by the president of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (IMWU), Yosa Wariyanti,
Wariyanti explained that such data refers to those that have already been without work for over two weeks. The association is prioritizing these workers for the time being as it cannot pay food support to everyone at the same time.
The leader of the association only knows of those in extreme situations and that have called for food support, hinting that those who are in a difficult situation but still manage to survive on their own should be a larger number.
She also explained that most of these people are not performing domestic work because they ”are mostly still working or receiving some support from employers.” She said the requests are from non-resident workers in other professions such as staff members in food and beverage establishments, working in logistics and other sectors that have been greatly affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.
As she explained, even before July 11, there were many reports of Indonesian workers saying that they were working on a “daily basis” and not on a “monthly basis,” which meant that they would only get a wage on the equivalent of the number of days they had worked within a month and not a full monthly wage.
