Dugaan Kerja Paksa, Pemerintah Stop Sementara Mahasiswa Magang di Taiwan
Indonesia Temporarily Stops Sending Students to Taiwan after Reports of Mistreatment
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
INDONESIA memutuskan untuk menghentikan sementara pengiriman mahasiswa ke beberapa perguruan tinggi di Taiwan, seperti dinyatakan Kementerian Luar Negeri pada Jumat, setelah meminta Taipei untuk menyelidiki laporan media tentang 300 mahasiswa dipaksa bekerja di pabrik.
Indonesia mengirim mahasiswa mengikuti program kuliah yang memberi peluang pada mereka untuk melakukan magang. Kemenlu menyatakan mahasiswa dalam skema ini ´menghadapi masalah´ tanpa memberikan rincian.
"Kami telah meminta penjelasan ... dan bagi pihak berwenang untuk menempuh langkah-langkah yang diperlukan untuk melindungi kepentingan dan keamanan para siswa ini," kata juru bicara Kemenlu Armanatha Nasir dalam pernyataan resmi.
Kementerian Pendidikan Taiwan mengatakan dalam pernyataan resminya pada Kamis bahwa laporan media tidak akurat dan bahwa tidak menemukan pelanggaran hukum perburuhan setempat setelah berbicara kepada para mahasiswa. Jika ditemukan praktik ilegal di sekolah mana pun, kementerian akan menangguhkan program di sana, tambahnya.
Seorang anggota parlemen Taiwan, Ko Chih-en, mengatakan pekan lalu bahwa enam universitas telah "memaksa" mahasiswa mereka dari Asia Tenggara, terutama orang Indonesia, untuk bekerja berjam-jam di pabrik membuat lensa kontak, menurut situs web Taiwan News.
Reuters tidak dapat memverifikasi tuduhan secara independen seperti dilansir MailOnline.
Ada sekitar 6.000 mahasiswa Indonesia di Taiwan, sekitar 1.000 di antaranya dikirim berdasarkan skema kuliah sambil magang kerja, kata Nasir.
INDONESIA will temporarily stop sending students to universities in Taiwan, the foreign ministry said on Friday, after it asked Taipei to investigate media reports that up to 300 students were being forced to work in factories.
The Southeast Asian nation sends students to Taiwan under a work-study programme that allows them to do internships while studying. Officials said students under this scheme had "faced problems", without providing details.
"We have asked for an explanation...and for authorities to take steps needed to protect the interests and safety of these students," Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir said in a statement.
Taiwan´s education ministry said in a statement on Thursday the media reports were not accurate and that it found no violations of local labour laws after speaking to the students. If any illegal practice was found in any school, the ministry would suspend the programmes there, it added.
A Taiwanese lawmaker, Ko Chih-en, said last week that six universities had been "forcing" their Southeast Asian students, especially Indonesians, to work long hours in factories making contact lenses, according to Taiwan News website.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the accusation.
There are around 6,000 Indonesian university students in Taiwan, around 1,000 of whom were sent under the work-study scheme, Nasir said.
