Tifa Asrianti, Jakarta – Lack of transparency in labor recruitment and placement overseas has hindered justice and the protection of migrant workers' basic rights, the Supreme Audit Agency reveals.
Its report shows unclear policies give way to various forms of violation in almost all stages of the process, "From recruitment, training and health checks to document processing, placement and even the homecoming procedure". The agency examined the performance of placement and protection of migrant workers in 2010's second semester report.
Five institutions are involved in the placement and protection of migrant workers: The Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Overseas Labor (BNP2TKI), Immigration directorate general, Indonesian embassies and manpower agencies in the municipality and regency level.
The number of migrant workers placed in 46 countries over the last five years reached 3 million, which contributed an increase of US$4.37 billion in foreign exchange each year.
The workers were from 19 provinces and 156 municipalities or regencies across Indonesia. Regions with the most Indonesian workers are the Asia Pacific and Middle East.
The agency gave 14 recommendations, including that the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry and BNP2TKI conduct a comprehensive evaluation on laws and policies, and the system and mechanism of migrant worker placement and protection.
BNP2TKI head Jumhur Hidayat said his office and the ministry had made steps to meet the agency's recommendations.
He said his office had formed with House Commission IX overseeing the Manpower and Transmigration and Foreign ministries, a comprehensive evaluation on laws, policies, and the placement and protection system of migrant workers.
"The ministry and us have prepared a positional letter to the joint team on the mechanism and procedure for the moratorium of migrant worker placement in a country. We have also complied problems in countries whose laws do not protect migrant workers and which have yet to sign an MoU with Indonesia," Jumhur said.
He said the ministry and his office also discussed the cost structure for migrant worker's placement for several countries and that would become a ministerial decision.
On the agency's recommendation to create a standard for the migrant worker recruitment system, Jumhur said his office had improved and restricted the placement service for the informal sector by applying for the online system, which involved related stakeholders.
"We postpone service for private stakeholders, such as the employment recruitment agency and Profession Certification Institution that violated the regulation. We also put the future migrant worker data system online from the municipality/regency level to see the supply data. In the future, we will build a recruitment system between work and countries," he said.
Anis Hidayah from Migrant Care said that since the Supreme Audit Agency's report was legitimate, the ministry and BNP2TKI should clean up mess surrounding migrant worker issues.
"They should involve the Corruption Eradication Commission and civil society groups that care about migrant worker issues. They should also create an instrument to regulate the placement and protection system on migrant workers," Anis said.
She suggested the ministry and BNP2TKI enforce harsher punishment on stakeholders that violate the regulation in a bid to deter others.