Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The Manpower and Transmigration Ministry has issued a regulation that will allow migrant workers to arrive at the regular passenger terminal of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.
The new regulation, Ministerial Decree No. 16/2012 on migrant worker arrival procedures, which is expected to take effect on Dec. 26, will require homeward-bound migrant workers to register with airport officials before being allowed to get their own public transportation.
Until now, workers were required to go through the special lounge at Terminal 4 in Selapajang, Tangerang, where the workers are prone to extortion by airport officials and others.
Beside having to pay hefty administrative levies, workers have also complained about having to exchange foreign currencies on the spot or pay exorbitant prices for their ride home. Some of the returning workers often fall victim to robbery or carjacking.
Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said his ministry had liaised with the National Agency for Labor Export and Protection (BNP2TKI), state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II and the airport police to implement the new rule.
"Migrant workers will no longer face discriminatory treatment and, like any other Indonesian citizen, will be allowed to come home through Terminal 2," Muhaimin said.
As for Terminal 4, Muhaimin said it would be used for arrivals of migrant workers in need of special treatment before they were transported to their home villages.
Anis Hidayah, executive director of Migrant Care, which provides legal advocacy for migrant workers said the new policy was long overdue.
The Manpower and Transmigration Ministry must now cooperate more closely with BNP2TKI and port authorities to prevent abuse of homeward bound workers and provide the high-quality service the deserve.
"The government and port authorities have to provide better transportation, especially airport buses, to regions in Jakarta's vicinity like Indramayu, Karawang, Cianjur and Sukabumi, the four regencies supplying the most migrant workers from West Java," she said.
Migrant workers are mostly female and rarely graduated from high school. Most returning migrant workers also go home with a large amount of cash and valuables with them. "Such conditions make them prone to extortion, robbery, abduction and rape," she said.
Chairman of the Indonesian Labor Supplier Association (Himsataki) Yunus Yamani added that returning migrant workers should also contact their sponsors if they want to renew their contracts.