So that we could erase the practice of human trafficking, violence, and exploitation carried out by job providers because of the cost burdenJakarta (ANTARA) - Waiving the placement fee for Indonesian migrant workers could help prevent their trafficking, deputy chairman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), Olivia Chadidjah Salampessy, has said.
"The effort to waive Indonesian migrant workers' placement cost is (aimed) to protect them from the debt trap, violence, exploitation, and human trafficking," she noted at an online discussion entitled 'Welcoming International Migrants Day' here on Friday.
Waiving the placement fee for Indonesian migrant workers would include eliminating the cost for passport creation, social insurance, obtaining a health clarification letter, and a psychological examination, she said.
The cost of legalization of the work contract, work visa, Indonesian Migrant Workers Placement Company's (P3MI) services, accommodation, and obtaining a police record clarification letter also needs to be waived, she added.
"So that we could erase the practice of human trafficking, violence, and exploitation carried out by job providers because of the cost burden," Salampessy affirmed.
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Law No. 18 of 2017 on Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection seeks to protect and advance the rights of Indonesian migrant workers, including zero placement cost, she explained.
"It is stipulated in Article 30 paragraph (2), which states that Indonesian migrant workers do not bear the burden of placement costs," she highlighted.
Komnas Perempuan held a public discussion in response to the weakening fulfillment of women's Constitutional and human rights, especially of women migrant workers, she added.
This was done to make the public aware of the effort to waive the placement cost for Indonesian migrant workers, she said.
Salampessy also asserted that the issue concerning migrant workers is a priority issue that will get Komnas Perempuan's attention during the 2020–2024 period.
At the same event, Komnas Perempuan commissioner Satyawanti Mashudi said that the commission recorded over 816 cases of human trafficking and 699 women migrant cases in the 2017–2020 period.
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Translator: Putu Indah S, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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