RI EMBASSY IN MANILA REPATRIATES 72 INDONESIAN CREW MEMBERS

Jakarta, Jan 30 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian embassy in Manila has again helped repatriate Indonesian ship crew members, this time 72 of them.

According to the foreign ministry in Jakarta on Thursday, they are repatriated in two groups, with the first group of 36 already arrived back in Indonesia last week.
They were working as crew members of Taiwanese fishing boats in international waters near Taiwan and China. When they arrived in Manila, they complained about their wages which they have not received.
The Indonesian embassy had already reported the case to the relevant authorities in Jakarta, and thanks to insistence from the Indonesian embassy the fishing companies provided the Indonesian ship crew members with some pocket money 20 US dollars each. The 36 crew members flew home by Cebu Pacific airlines.
The second group of 36 crew members are those who had been abandoned by their South Korean employers.
After being facilitated by the Indonesian embassy, their employers eventually gave them their wages in full, including the cost of their repatriation.