The protection of Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) should be the responsibility of not only the central and regional governments, but also village administrations.
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The protection of Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) should be the responsibility of not only the central and regional governments, but also village administrations. Villages must be encouraged to protect TKIs proactively, as their recruitment and falsification of personal documents occur at the village level.
Villages are fertile ground for sponsors and middlemen to recruit prospective TKIs. Middlemen, many of who work for private TKI placement agencies (PPTKIS), often offer money to the parents of prospective TKIs to attract new recruits. Village administrations are often powerless in such situations.
Since 2016, the government has been aware of villages’ important role in protecting TKIs. The Manpower Ministry has named 252 Productive Migration Villages (Desmigratif) among TKI enclaves across the country. The Migrant Care non-profit organization has also established 34 Migrant Worker Care Villages (Desbumi) across the country. However, the two initiatives have yet to encourage village administrations to be more serious in fulfilling its role of protecting migrant workers.
The Desmigratif and Desbumi that were established in 2016 in Indramayu, West Java, for instance, have limited their tasks to compiling a database of residents that worked as TKIs. The institutions have yet to urge prospective TKIs to submit their information to the population data, which is a prerequisite for working abroad.
Agus Maksum, 30, a Desmigratif official of Kenanga village in Sindang district, Indramayu, said that prospective TKIs in his village remained dependent on the PPTKIS to process their administrative data. Middlemen were often involved in this process.
As a result, Maksum said, around 300 families in Kenanga village did not have any copies of the personal documentation of relatives who worked as TKIs. “Many locals are unaware that it is important that they keep copies of the documents. If, for instance, the relatives who work abroad are involved in an accident, the documents are important [...] for protecting them,” he said.
Poor bargaining position
HB, 38, a former TKI middleman, said that offering money to the families of prospective TKIs was an effective recruitment method. The money offered ranges from Rp 2 million (US$140) to Rp 4 million. “As the families are poor, the loan is very attractive. The parents of prospective TKIs who take the money are unaware that their children will be forced to pay back the money,” said HB.
Juntinyuat village secretary Rendi Yudhistira also confirmed the village administrations’ poor bargaining position against such practices. Although a Desbumi office had been established in the village, the village administration is often unable to refuse middlemen that seeking to obtain data on prospective TKIs.
Migrant Care executive director Wahyu Susilo said that villages had an important role to play in protecting migrant workers, as the village administrations processed the documents of all TKIs. Middlemen and sponsors also recruited TKIs in villages. “Based on our experience with TKIs, the falsification of their personal documents takes place in villages. The village officials are often involved,” said Wahyu.
Law No. 18/2017 on TKI placement and protection offers new hope, as it requires villages to be actively engaged in protecting TKIs. On the other hand, regional governments must also push village heads to be proactive in reporting residents who work as TKIs.