“Many illegal PMIs are treated poorly at work, which often involved physical and sexual violence, unpaid wages due to absence of contract, unilateral imposition of type of works by the employers and transfer from one employer to another. Those working as seaman often experience violence and when they die their bodies are thrown into the sea. It is difficult to ascertain the kind of violence inflicted on them. Only one or two cases went viral, but the real problem is much worse. “God willing, the official PMIs will not experience all these woes,” said Benny.
With regard to economic protection for official PMIs, they are given assurance that their salaries will be paid on a regular basis. However, their social, economic and legal protection are constrained by BP2MI’s relatively small budget. The agency received an annual budget of only Rp300 billion, and 61 percent is spent on staff salaries. “We have to buy them (official PMIs) airline tickets every year. We even had a debt of Rp2 billion to the National Police Hospital in just a year,” said Benny.
When PMIs are overseas, they become the responsibility of the Foreign Ministry. After they arrive in Indonesia, the responsibility shifts to BP2MI. This may include preparing an ambulance for PMI who died abroad, transporting the sick to the National Police Hospital for treatment and paying for the costs to bring them back to their hometown.
PMIs must also improve their competence and skills, because employers can get upset if they do not do their job properly and have poor communication. This often resulted in violence. But again, there is lack of funds for this. “My dream is to have an education and training center for every PMI candidate. The state must prepare necessary infrastructure to enhance their competence. As a token of appreciation, the government has built lounges at eight international airports and set up special lanes. They were also given official send-off, like the batch sent to Germany on Monday (17/4). They also bring a credential letter to be given to their employers. By receiving a letter on behalf of the Indonesian government, they will feel honored and the hope is that they will treat their workers with more respect,” said Benny.
The question is, who is tasked with strengthening their competence? The regional administrations should bear this responsibility, but lack of budget means that this has yet been realized. In addition, many local government officials do not understand the law.
Read: HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN INDONESIA A Common Issue, A Recurring Tragedy
According to Benny, there are several solutions to address the problems faced by PMIs. First, increase the budget for competency building so that every Indonesian migrant worker can have English proficiency like the overseas Filipino workers.
Second, enhance law enforcement efforts and commitment to prevent illegal PMIs from leaving the country. Third, educate the public about safe migration and the importance of legality through massive awareness-raising programs and outreach by regional administrations down to the village level. Most importantly, the central government must work collaboratively with the regional administrations. (eka, des)