he government has developed centers in border areas to better help the documentation of Indonesian people seeking jobs abroad and to empower migrant workers who have become trapped in illegal employment in neighboring countries, an official has said.
"The center in Nunukan has assisted hundreds of Indonesian migrant workers employed illegally in Tawau so that they can obtain proper documentation - such as resident IDs [KTP], family cards [KK] and visas. In the center, they also can be retrained and redeployed for work," the Office of the Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister’s deputy minister for women and children protection, Sujatmiko, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
He said the success of the center since its establishment in March in North Kalimantan, a province that bordered with Malaysia, had given the government confidence to continue to expand the system.
Two more centers are expected to be completed by December, he continued. One center will be located in Entikong, which also borders with Malaysia, while the second one will be in Batam and is aimed at reaching Indonesian migrant workers in Singapore, he added.
"These workers are most vulnerable to being exploited since they have fallen victim to illegal employment," Sujatmiko said.
He said cooperation with regional governments to boost industries and provide jobs for its residents were also being developed to prevent locals from being easily lured into dubious employment schemes abroad.
West Java, Central Java, East Java, East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara and West Kalimantan are the six biggest provinces of origin of migrant workers, official data says. (ebf)
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