Until the end of March 2006, the Indonesian state has gained US$ 3.1 trillion income from Indonesian citizens working abroad (mostly Indonesian migrant workers are women). These workers, that motsly women, are often ill-treated during departure, transit, work places and return. Cases of documents forgery, violations of work contracts, underpaid wages, unpaid wages, fraud, persecution, physical abuse and sexual harrassment often occured. Until the end of 2006 the gonvernment of Indonesia has not yet found any solution to solved this big problem.
In 2006, there were 102 undocumented migrant workers who were forced to leave Malyasia. These workers just finished their imprisonment time in Kajang, Malaysia. Jorge Bustamante, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the rigth of migrant worker, report tha in December 2006 many Indonesia workers have experience to human rights violation. Most of the violation faced to women and children workers. They were raped, forced to became prostitutes women worker (Pekerja Seks Komersial). Many of them could not refuse because they didn’t have any information to where they should complain from what they have experience. The gonverment from two coutries, Indonesia and colleague, didn’t have mechanism to give any information according to report from the migrant workers.
Then, we have to be at migrant worker side to think deeply what is the big problem of they faced. Most of the migrant worker (Indonesian workers) came from various village. They don’t have any information about the countries that they will visit. They usually have information from their relative who succesed before. Actually, they don’t have the real condition about the countries. Difference culture, social condition, economic problem are the problem that they usually don’t know. The role of gonvernment is so vital here. Gonvernment must give any information about the countries not only giving them skill.
Migrant workers is one of the big source of devisen of Indonesia beside from oil and gas. But actually they don’t have any protection from the gonvernment of Indonesia. Political status, economic independency, justice, order, etc are source of problem that migrant worker faced. As a source of devisen, migrant worker don’t have any good responses from the gonvernment of Indonesia.
They are mostly unskilled worker who worked on informal sector, Servant, hard worker that don’t need any spesific skilled. The gonvernment itself have no idea to enrich their skill. Department of Worker and Transmigration faced a mountain of problem not only from migrant worker itself, but also the problem occured within this country. Industrial relations between company and worker, unemployment, the stratification of worker skill are number of problem that Departmenent of Worker and Transmigration should find the solution. They should find long term solution. For example, to educate the people of Indonesia so that their skill will improve. Education here means that everything that can enrich their knowledge and skill. That should be make sense when Indonesia worker’s skill improved, they can choose kind of job that related to their skilled. They can also have value added to choose any job that they want.
Indonesia have jurisdiction system that called active national principle (asas nasional aktif). The principle stated that people of Indonesia not only in the territory of Indonesia but also who lived outside Indonesia have right protection from the gonvernment of Indonesia wherever they live. For example, people of Indonesia who get any violation outside Indonesia, gonvernment will make any mechanism to solve the problem. They should have any protection from any harm that can threaten their life. Indonesia has any realization consultation mechanism with other ASEAN countries especially Malaysia who migrant worker is one of the focus of the consultation. It consist of not only from the issues of human right but also economy, politics, terrorism, etc. From one of the clausul of that consultation stated that Indonesia and Malaysia will responsible and togheter solving the problem from migrant workers. That mechanism of cosultancy hold in Bangkok, October 2004 which establish by ASEAN countries againts any violation that can threaten to the peace of regional situation especially ASEAN countries.
This problem actually couldn’t soleve parsially. The problem of migrant worker must be solved by all of stakeholder that include to the problem of migrant worker. Stakeholder here means all the people of Indonesia, include migrant worker, and the countries that usually use for service of migrant worker of Indonesia. This problem should be looked on the various side of point of view. Social-politics, economy, culture, security, and also human right are side that we should looked when we want to solved the problem of migrant worker. The government couldn’t conclude simply that the problem of migrant worker especially from Indonesia. the government of Indonesia couldn’t conclude that the problem of migrant worker is just economic problem or just cultural problem. That problem should be solved integratively.
Alternative of Solution
From the statement above that the problem of migrant worker of Indonesia happened not only when they came to visited countries but also when they registered themselves to be a migrant worker. They usually have many exploitation from the immigration official, airport staff, and other institution who handled this migrant worker. Even when they do not yet come abroad, many candidate of migrant worker who live at a place that accommodate the candidate live on unsufficient condition. These are of course against UUD 1945 that stated the worker must have sufficient condition to live even for the family of the worker.
Therefore, the government must make regulation who organize the institution that handled migrant worker clearly. The government must make regulation who standardize the way of managing migrant worker. For example, the place where migrant worker live must be standardize that can support their live. The sanitary condition is one of the issue to government that must be concerned. Beside that, the government must make any regulation related to managing information system to migrant worker. That information system must connected centrally to government so that government can monitor regularly. This information system include all activity related to migrant worker so that any exploitation related to migrant worker can be monitored regularly.
The problem of migrant worker not only happened within Indonesia but also when they came to visited countries. At the visited countries, the problem of migrant worker increase bigger than within Indonesia. Exploitation, sexual harassment are kind of the problem who faced by migrant worker. First, we talk about exploitation to migrant worker. Exploitation here means all activity related to using of service of migrant worker that not humanly. Workload that bigger than capability, low paid so that worker couldn’t have any nutrient that sufficient to their health, are kinds of treatment that faced by migrant worker. So, the role of government to control migrant worker at the visited countries is so important. The government must have any arrangement with visited countries how to manage this amount of worker. One of the solution here is the government must make an institution that place at the visited countries. This institution monitor regularly the activity of migrant worker. This institution also monitor wheter some illegal worker who came to visited countries.
Another step that government should be make is re-enrichment of migrant worker. As stated above, usually the migrant worker of Indonesia have low skill indeed. Even, they come to visited countries with no skill at all. The government with department of worker and transmigration must hold many training and workshop to enrich migrant worker’s skill. Some skill may be need time to be expert while anothers not. The government must make any mapping about what skill that visited countries need. For example, middle east countries need many nurse, welding expert etc. So, based on their need the government can focus improve skill of migrant worker especially to the skill that visited counties need.
Conclusion
The role of government to solve the big mountain of migrant worker is so important. The problem of migrant worker couldn’t solved parsially. The government and the stakeholder who related to migrant worker must have big concern to mapping the problem and find root cause of problem. The skill of migrant worker is important here. So that government must make many training to enrich migrant worker skill. Managing system of migrant worker also can decrease the problem. Managing information system can centrally monitor the activity of migrant worker. That information system can control what the problem are, where the migrant worker placed, how the condition of migrant worker, how many worker that work abroad etc.