Indonesia Worker (Tenaga Kerja Indonesia) on Arrival
The Indonesian Embassy in London says it will provide assistance to an Indonesian maid who is suing her employers for ill-treatment, even as government officials question the legality of her immigration status.
Yoyoh binti Salim Udin, 39, has taken her case to the Central London Employment Tribunal, alleging that her employers, Firas Pasha and his wife, Lina Chamsi, treated her “like a slave,” embassy consular official Dwiky Miftach said on Friday.
But Indonesia’s Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration said Yoyoh, from West Java, may have been working in the UK illegally, citing the absence of any agreement on domestic workers between the two countries. “Her presence in the UK would seem to be in breach of existing procedures,” said Rosstiawati, head of the ministry’s overseas worker placement division.
She added the ministry would investigate the agency that had sent Yoyoh to London and take action accordingly for any wrongdoing.
Dwiky said Yoyoh had attempted suicide by drinking poison in April last year, after alleging ill-treatment at the hands of her employers.
He added that embassy officials had spoken to her while she was being treated at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, but had lost contact with her since her release.
“The Indonesian Embassy is deeply concerned about our citizens in the UK,” Dwiky said.
He said embassy officials would attend the tribunal, which he hoped would result in a fair decision and compensation for Yoyoh.
Yoyoh started working for Pasha at his family’s five-room apartment in the Kensington area of London in 2004. She was paid five pounds ($8) a day.
In a previous hearing, Yoyoh claimed she had been frisked by her employers after being accused of stealing a pair of earrings, and was later locked inside the apartment.
She is now suing the family for discrimination, unfair dismissal and unlawfully withholding her wages.
The family’s lawyer, Jonathan Goldberg, said Yoyoh had never been treated like a slave. Instead, he said, the family had lavished her with items such as skin moisturizer.
“This is not how one treats slaves, is it?” he said.
Anis Hidayah, executive director of watchdog Migrant Care, said civil organizations in London had declared their support for Yoyoh and offered their assistance in the tribunal.
“It’s possible that she’s received threats from the family or its lawyer during the tribunal,” she claimed.
She added Migrant Care had urged the government to provide greater protection for Indonesians working abroad, particularly in relation to their basic rights.
Separately, a group staged a rally on Friday outside the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta to demand resolution of a case in which three Indonesian workers were shot dead by Malaysian police on suspicion of having stolen a car.
“Regardless of their background or why they were killed, they were still human,” Anis said. “Their families deserve closure.”
She said the Malaysian government had failed to adequately address the problems faced by Indonesian workers there.
Rosstiawati said the ministry had handed the case to police because the three men had been caught stealing.
They had not gone to Malaysia through a government-certified placement agency, which indicating they may have been there illegally.
The three, identified as Musdi, Abdul Sanu and Muhlis, were killed last month following a car chase with police. They were East Java natives.
Yoyoh binti Salim Udin, 39, has taken her case to the Central London Employment Tribunal, alleging that her employers, Firas Pasha and his wife, Lina Chamsi, treated her “like a slave,” embassy consular official Dwiky Miftach said on Friday.
But Indonesia’s Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration said Yoyoh, from West Java, may have been working in the UK illegally, citing the absence of any agreement on domestic workers between the two countries. “Her presence in the UK would seem to be in breach of existing procedures,” said Rosstiawati, head of the ministry’s overseas worker placement division.
She added the ministry would investigate the agency that had sent Yoyoh to London and take action accordingly for any wrongdoing.
Dwiky said Yoyoh had attempted suicide by drinking poison in April last year, after alleging ill-treatment at the hands of her employers.
He added that embassy officials had spoken to her while she was being treated at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, but had lost contact with her since her release.
“The Indonesian Embassy is deeply concerned about our citizens in the UK,” Dwiky said.
He said embassy officials would attend the tribunal, which he hoped would result in a fair decision and compensation for Yoyoh.
Yoyoh started working for Pasha at his family’s five-room apartment in the Kensington area of London in 2004. She was paid five pounds ($8) a day.
In a previous hearing, Yoyoh claimed she had been frisked by her employers after being accused of stealing a pair of earrings, and was later locked inside the apartment.
She is now suing the family for discrimination, unfair dismissal and unlawfully withholding her wages.
The family’s lawyer, Jonathan Goldberg, said Yoyoh had never been treated like a slave. Instead, he said, the family had lavished her with items such as skin moisturizer.
“This is not how one treats slaves, is it?” he said.
Anis Hidayah, executive director of watchdog Migrant Care, said civil organizations in London had declared their support for Yoyoh and offered their assistance in the tribunal.
“It’s possible that she’s received threats from the family or its lawyer during the tribunal,” she claimed.
She added Migrant Care had urged the government to provide greater protection for Indonesians working abroad, particularly in relation to their basic rights.
Separately, a group staged a rally on Friday outside the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta to demand resolution of a case in which three Indonesian workers were shot dead by Malaysian police on suspicion of having stolen a car.
“Regardless of their background or why they were killed, they were still human,” Anis said. “Their families deserve closure.”
She said the Malaysian government had failed to adequately address the problems faced by Indonesian workers there.
Rosstiawati said the ministry had handed the case to police because the three men had been caught stealing.
They had not gone to Malaysia through a government-certified placement agency, which indicating they may have been there illegally.
The three, identified as Musdi, Abdul Sanu and Muhlis, were killed last month following a car chase with police. They were East Java natives.
