Reality is Not as Good as it Appears on Paper

KOMPAS/CORNELIUS HELMY HERLAMBANG

Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong show their work on Sunday (13/5/2018) as part of the Mandiri Sahabatku 2018 training program. The program empowers them in developing their own businesses when they repatriate to Indonesia.

The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed another side to the story of Indonesian migrant workers. In Hong Kong, for example, a surge in daily Covid-19 cases to 26,908 on Monday (14/3/2022) caused panic and confusion among the public.

"There was a migrant worker infected with Covid-19 who was asked by her employer to self-isolate outside the house. But, only after a day in isolation, she was asked to come back because there was no one to take care of the elderly at the house," said Dedi Kristanto, who counsels Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong.

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According to Dedi, migrant workers had also become "victims" of the fifth wave of Covid-19 in Hong Kong. Domestic workers who tested positive for Covid-19 were often expelled from their employer’s home because the houses were generally small and there was no room for self-isolation. As a result, the migrant workers were evicted and became homeless. Some employers asked them to return after two weeks, he said, but others were fired.

“Nothing has happened to PMI [Indonesian migrant workers]. The victims were mainly workers from the Philippines. This situation shows the weak position of migrant workers in Hong Kong,” said Eni Lestari, chairperson of the International Migrant Alliance (IMA), a global network of migrant workers in 30 countries.

The explosion of Covid-19 cases shows that Hong Kong is still unable to provide isolation facilities for infected people.

The Hong Kong government has now prepared a centralized isolation facility. Before this, however, they faced difficulties in handling people who had contracted Covid-19. The explosion of Covid-19 cases shows that Hong Kong is still unable to provide isolation facilities for infected people.

In terms of employment regulations, Hong Kong has the most comprehensive set of rules for migrant workers, including the treatment of informal workers. However, on deeper examination, these regulations only look good on paper and in practice, many migrant workers are still mistreated.

Eni Lestari said that, as the Hong Kong government did not have subsidies for children or the elderly, many residents relied on migrant workers to take care of elderly family members. Similar to Taiwan, workers who were hired to care for the elderly were given additional tasks, such as cleaning the house, washing the car and looking after the pets, she added.

Even though the workers did not mind the extra work, it was unfair and the workers felt trapped, she said. “In addition, there is no regulation on domestic workers, so there is no minimum salary. It all depends on negotiating with the employer,” she said.

KOMPAS/BUDIMAN TANUREJO

Sri Purwati, an Indonesian migrant worker, is practicing hair styling at a competency improvement program for Indonesian migrant workers in Taipei, Taiwan

The same thing has occurred in Taiwan. Fajar Susmiati, who chairs the Workers Solidarity Association, an organization of Indonesian migrant workers in Taiwan, said a number of workers who were hired to provide care for elderly family members or children were forced to work at factories and other businesses.

“There is no solution from either Indonesia or Taiwan. If Taiwan needs more workers, it can open a special recruitment program," said Fajar. In addition, the local manpower office conducted no regular checks on the working situation of migrant workers, she said, and that as a consequence, various problems in the domestic services sector went undetected.

The data also showed that as many as 26,000 Indonesian migrant workers had fled from their employers or factories, generally because of persecution or because their visa had run out.

Based on data from the Taiwan immigration office, there were a total of 240,000 Indonesian migrant workers in the country as of February 2022, which included 23,000 crew members of ships. The data also showed that as many as 26,000 Indonesian migrant workers had fled from their employers or factories, generally because of persecution or because their visa had run out.

Governance

The executive director of workers’ rights NGO Migrant Care, Wahyu Susilo, called on the Indonesian government to improve the management of migrant workers as well as improve their competitiveness while waiting for the situation to recover from the pandemic.

Kompas/Wawan H Prabowo (WAK)

Benny Rhamdani

Regarding efforts to improve managing the placement of migrant workers, the Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Agency (BP2MI) has appealed to the government to cover the expenses of sending Indonesian migrant workers overseas, such as costs related to training and education, including the competency certification, passport and visa processing, health checks, psychology tests, and air tickets, as well as extra requirements during the pandemic, such as swab testing fees and quarantine costs.

BP2MI head Benny Rhamdani said that the government needed to allocate at least Rp 8.2 trillion, or Rp 30 million per person, towards covering these expenses. Around 277,000 migrant workers were sent to a number of destination countries every year.

The government is ready to send migrant workers overseas once a number of countries have lifted their travel restrictions. However, the government is waiting to sign memorandums of understanding with several countries.

“The guarantee on workers’ protection and job security must be clear first. That is what we are asking for before sending migrant workers to other countries," said Suhartono, the Manpower Ministry’s director general of labor placement and job development.

KOMPAS/KHAERUL ANWAR

Migrant workers from the islands of Lombok and Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, usually spend their free time working on Saturdays and Sundays at Taman Victoria Park, Hong Kong.

Separately, the government provides training, social assistance and capital assistance for Indonesian migrant workers, such as through the Pre-employment Card program that falls under the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister. (REUTERS/DNE/LUK/AGE/JOS)

(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi).