BP2MI Head Benny Ramdhani, in a press conference here on Monday, stated that around 2,200 Indonesian migrant workers returned to the country dead during three years of his serving as head of BP2MI.
"Around 95 percent of them departed illegally," he noted.
Ramdhani further stated that 3,500 Indonesian migrant workers had returned to the country sick, were physically disabled due to abuse, as well as suffered from mild to severe form of depression.
Meanwhile, the number of migrant workers who were deported reached 103 thousand.
"Why did they experience this? Because those who illegally work overseas are not bound by a work agreement. There is nothing that legally binds the obligations of employers to (those) Indonesian migrant workers," he pointed out.
Ramdhani remarked that working abroad is the right of all citizens, and the state will provide all the facilities needed for its citizens to work abroad.
"However, avoid working illegally, avoid the persuasion of syndicate brokers because it will be risky. In fact, working legally is easy," he remarked.
Ramdhani explained that those looking to work abroad legally can visit the local manpower offices or the local BP2MI offices.
"Ask which countries have job opportunities and what the conditions are. It only takes two to three months of patience to attend training to become more skilled," he remarked.
On that occasion, he also stated that the non-procedural placement of Indonesian migrant workers is mainly done by individuals and not legal companies.
"Legal companies have rights that are protected by law to place Indonesian migrant workers. If the placement is non-procedural, at a certain stage, the BP2MI will verify it," he remarked.
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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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