While signing memoranda of understanding with regional authorities here, Wednesday, BP2MI Chairperson Benny Rhamdani said that from 2020 to September 2022, the agency had handled 79,153 troubled Indonesian migrant workers and repatriated 1,421 coffins of migrant workers, of which 90 percent were placed overseas illegally.
"This vicious cycle would not break if early protection measures are not implemented," Rhamdani stated.
He highlighted that those migrant workers working overseas through illegal means are vulnerable to violence and salary withheld, as they sign no employment contract before working.
"They are vulnerable to physical and sexual violence and withheld wage payment because they never sign an employment contract," the official noted.
Failure to sign an employment contract also makes Indonesian migrant workers vulnerable to human trafficking, work exploitation, and unilateral layoff, he stated.
The official highlighted that despite Law No. 18 of 2017 on Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection stipulating migrant workers' protection and placement are joint responsibilities between the central and regional authorities, some officials still perceive that protection of migrant workers is the central government's responsibility.
He said that the memoranda of understanding signed with regional authorities are aimed at enhancing cooperation and synergy for the protection of migrant workers.
The BP2MI head stated that preventive measures could be taken from the village level by ensuring prospective migrant workers use only legal avenues in seeking new opportunities overseas.
"Preventive measures from earlier stages are convenient. We must not allow issues to appear only when (migrant workers are) overseas," Rhamdani remarked.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna V, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
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