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Jokowi-Kalla urged to strengthen migrant worker protection
Migrant Aid Indonesia executive director M
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igrant Aid Indonesia executive director M.Kholili has urged the president and vice president-elect Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and Jusuf Kalla to create a policy to strengthen the protection of Indonesian migrant workers.
'The Jokowi-Kalla government needs a policy that protects migrant workers, starting from the recruitment process, while they are in their work places, and until they return to Indonesia,' said Kholili as quoted by Antara news agency in Jember, East Java, on Wednesday.
He said migrant workers did not yet have adequate protection and many had become victims of human trafficking and abuse at the hands of their employers, facilitated by rogue recruitment agencies.
'Policy reforms can be realized by providing access to information on job opportunities, document processing procedures, training and education programs, working hours and standards, salaries and rights on absences of leave for migrant workers,' said Kholili.
He added that other policy reforms were needed, included eradicating rogue recruitment agencies as well as illegal levies in various sectors, as worker recruitment agencies had been exploiting those wishing to work abroad.
Kholili also urged Jokowi as president-elect to strengthen the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI) as a non-department government agency that protected migrant workers, not to be 'agent' that facilitated private employment recruitment agencies. (ebf)
