Coronavirus lockdowns across Indonesia has forced companies to cut jobs and wages for migrant workers.
Since leaving his village in Indonesia to work abroad three decades ago, Wasito has never failed to send money home at Eid to support family in the world's largest Muslim country.Coronavirus lockdowns around the world have forced companies to cut jobs or wages, and migrant workers such as Wasito are particularly vulnerable because of inadequate job protections.
Most businesses in Malaysia have reopened this month, but Wasito said he was not paid his monthly wages of 2,500 ringgit during the six-week shutdown, forcing him to borrow money from his employer to get food that he now has to repay. Migrant workers sent $11.44 billion back to Indonesia in 2019, up from $8.35 billion in 2014, mostly from countries in Asia and the Middle East, Indonesia's Central Bank figures show."Remittances are important for Indonesian families to support their basic needs like food, housing and education," said Pingkan Audrine, a researcher at the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies, a Jakarta-based think-tank.
Indonesian Muslim attend Eid al-Fitr prayer that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Bekasi on the outskirts of JakartaSuch a loss would cut a crucial lifeline for many families, as one in nine people globally benefitted from international remittances in 2019, according to the United Nations.
Some returning workers have started their own small businesses, but sluggish consumer sentiment makes it tough. The mother of two worked as a cleaner in Malaysia for a decade until she lost her job in March. She has started a sewing business back home - and sees a silver lining in her layoff.
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