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Indonesia plans to bar foreign workers in some sectors

JAKARTA: Indonesia plans to issue a list of industries closed to foreign workers, Manpower Minister Abdul Latief said on Monday.

"We are doing a study on foreign workers in Indonesia and will draw up a system to train Indonesians to take over jobs from foreigners in certain fields," he told reporters.

"We will issue a list (of jobs) where foreign workers cannot be employed."

But he said the government would simplify work permit procedures in fields where foreigners are needed. "We must admit that we lack expertise in some fields," he said.

Latief said the move would help reduce Indonesia's foreign worker population, which grew by 38 percent to 57,159 in 1995 from the previous year.

A Manpower Ministry official said South Koreans were the most numerous foreign workers in Indonesia, with more than 11,000.

At this stage, it was not known how many foreign workers would be affected, the official said.

"We will train Indonesians in sectors such as accountancy and management information so that in future there will be no need to import such workers," Latief said.-Reuter