The Indonesian Consulate in Jeddah has sought the help of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) in speeding up paperwork of illegal expatriates from their country as also in dealing with "mu'akebs" or middlemen who were charging exorbitant rates to expedite the process of correction of employment status.
Faisal Bataweel from the JCCI’s social responsibility department has since been entrusted with the job to help the Indonesian expats under the supervision of Mazen Batterjee, the chamber’s vice president. A team led by Bataweel along with volunteers has been visiting the Labor Office to speed up the biometric process and other issues.
The JCCI, which met with Indonesian mission officials to assess their problems, has requested the consulate to provide them with six bilingual volunteers who are fluent in Arabic to facilitate implementation of the royal decree, and further the role that the chamber can play in supporting various government departments.
JCCI coordinator Nosheen Ahmed said: “We are having one-on-one meetings with consuls-general of various countries and trying to understand their problems so that we can help them.”
Referring to the meeting with Indonesian acting consul general, Ahmed said: “We discussed how the JCCI can be of help, and they pointed out the problems faced by them including the spurious role of the middlemen. The officials sought JCCI’s help in fixing a uniform rate for such services since the workers were not in a position to pay such high amounts. Besides, sponsors who are willing to absorb the workers were also not willing to pay the SR 60,000 being demanded when their intake was in the region of 8 to 10 workers.”
She said the JCCI has also decided to extend technical and voluntary services to the Passport Department office. The chamber had sought inputs on how they can be of help without disturbing the functioning of the Passport Department.
“The Egyptian Consulate, which is facing problems, has also requested the JCCI to help sort out matters,” she said.
Indonesian Consulate seeks help of JCCI
