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Members of Colombo Process agree to establish credible labor market information system
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Members of Colombo Process agree to establish credible labor market information system (-/-)
M
anpower Minister M. Hanif Dhakiri revealed that Indonesia and other countries that sent workers abroad had agreed to set up a credible labor market information system in response to the growing need of a system that was interconnected down to the district level.
“That way, prospective workers at the district level know in detail the information related to the type of employment, the number of workers requested, job specifications, and others,” he said.
"So that the country and the prospective workers can prepare everything, most importantly the skills and certification,” explained Hanif, following a migrant workers ministerial meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Aug.25.
“In the meeting with host countries set to be held in a few months, the issue will be the major topic so that the host countries and the members of the Colombo Process can reach a definitive decision,” he said.
According to Hanif, labor market information was a major issue in the migration process, as inaccurate information easily translates into problems.
Hanif attended the ministerial meeting in Colombo.
The Colombo Process is a non-binding regional consultative forum on the management of overseas employment and contractual labor for countries of origin in Asia. The members comprise 11 Asian countries: Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
The forum was established in Colombo in 2003 with Indonesia spearheading the initiative on its establishment. Later, further meetings were held in Manila (2004), Bali (2005) and Dhaka (2011). This year’s meeting in Colombo is the fifth.
Indonesia sends a large number of workers overseas. Data from the ministry reveals that Indonesia has around 6.1 million workers working in various countries across the globe.
Hanif said Indonesia saw the forum as highly strategic in its capacity to push for better international cooperation in the improvement of the skills and protection of workers when they were still in their country of origin and after arriving in their host country.
The Colombo Process is of strategic importance in the cooperation and coordination between overseas employment and contractual labor countries “to create a fair, safe and mutually beneficial migration process for all migrant workers,” he said.
“In this forum, Indonesia presented several suggestions related to improving the conditions of migrant workers. We also shared the good practices related to migrant workers that we’ve implemented in Indonesia,” he said.
This year’s meeting carries the theme “Migration for Prosperity: Adding Value by Working Together”. There are five main issues to discuss: labor market analysis, skill and qualification recognition, promoting ethical recruitment, pre-departure orientation and empowerment, and remittances.
According to the minister, all issues are relevant to the condition of overseas employment in Indonesia and in other countries.
