Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI) launched Thursday an empowerment program for former and hopeful female migrant workers in three Java provinces.

Set to benefit about 5,000 workers in 90 subdistricts in Indramayu in West Java, Sragen in Central Java and Banyuwangi in East Java, the "Empowerment Program for Female Migrant Workers and Their Families" has been funded by Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) and fully supported by the World Bank.

Similar programs funded by Ausaid have been in effect since last year in West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara; two provinces that contribute a significant number of Indonesian workers overseas.

"Core issues the participants will learn from the program are access to finance, access to information, and setup mechanism at local level," BNP2TKI chairman Jumhur Hidayat told The Jakarta Post Thursday after the launch.

World Bank Social Development gender specialist Dewayani, responsible for the monitoring of the bank's technical assistance for the program, said it could help participants understand how to access loans to finance their departure abroad and how to benefit from their remittance funds, among others.

Jumhur said the program targets female migrant workers in particular, as they make up over 70 percent of Indonesians working overseas.

"And over 95 percent of Indonesian migrant workers currently in trouble are women. This is related to the fact that, while male workers usually work at the formal sector, women usually work in the informal sector, generally as domestic workers," he said.

Problems mostly faced by workers, who currently number over 1,000 according to BNP2TKI records, are unpaid salaries, abuses and one-side lay off, Jumhur said.

The World Bank and BNP2TKI said in a joint press statement regarding the program that it was aimed at ensuring recruitment of migrant workers through official way, improving the workers' access to financial services and improving supporting mechanism for secure migration.

"The program was born due to the fact that a large number of workers sent overseas have yet to be a subject of sufficient protection neither before and during the placement nor upon their return to Indonesia," the statement says.

Lisna Poeloengan, acting director for protection at the BNP2TKI, said there were about six million Indonesian workers overseas according to 2008 record.

The International Labour Organization said these workers sent over US$6 billion of remittance to Indonesia every year.

West Java, Central Java and East Java have been picked for the program because they are among regions in the country that send largest numbers of migrant workers.

In 2009, West Java alone recorded remittance of Rp 80 billion per day or about Rp 2.9 trillion a year from overseas workers, while Central Java and East Java Rp 8 trillion and Rp 2.5 trillion per year, respectively.

The number of migrant workers from Central Java and East Java have increased by 100 percent and 80 percent, respectively, in 2008 and 2009; while in West Java the figure has been relatively the same.

The program will last until March 2012, with funding from JSDF amounting to $1.56 million in total.