Promising start for migrant workers

Alan Boulton, Jakarta

The actions by the President and the Manpower Minister in their early days in office are a good sign that the Government will finally address the problems which confront many Indonesian migrant workers.

The President made a special trip to Riau to welcome returning workers from Malaysia and to acknowledge the contribution of these "heroes". The new manpower minister, Fahmi Idris, has visited Malaysia for discussions with the Malaysian government on a range of migrant workers issues. It is important that follow-up action ensure a proper system and protections are now put in place for migrant workers.

There is growing awareness of the problems encountered by many Indonesians who seek employment opportunities in other countries. While overseas employment can be a rewarding experience for many, some migrant workers suffer poor working and living conditions. In recent well-publicized cases, some workers have suffered serious abuses at the hands of their employers.

Migrant workers are an increasingly important part of the labor force of many countries. It is estimated that there are more than 86 million migrant workers the world over, of which some 32 million are in developing regions. More than two million Asian workers leave home every year to work in other countries within, and outside, the region, under short-term employment contracts.

Today's migrant workforce includes workers with a variety of skills. At the upper end are the millions of professional workers who travel to other countries in search of higher wages or greater opportunities. However migration flows are dominated by workers moving to fill unskilled jobs in those sectors of the labor market vacated by native workers who have moved on to better jobs. Most migrants from developing countries tend to end up working in the so-called "3D" jobs -- the dirty, dangerous, and difficult jobs that local workers don't want.

Women account for an increasing proportion of international migrants. The feminization of the migrant workforce, particularly in labor-intensive manufacturing industries and in many service industries, is most evident in Asia, where a considerable number of women emigrate each year in both unskilled and skilled professions, the majority in domestic service and entertainment and, to a lesser extent, in nursing and teaching.

Over the last decade Indonesia has become one of the world's major suppliers of unskilled international contract labor. Indonesia is the second largest exporter of labor after the Philippines. According to a recent ILO study, the number of documented or regular migrant workers was 438,000 in 2002. The number of undocumented or irregular migrant workers is difficult to estimate, but is likely to be at least twice the official figure.

It is estimated that the annual foreign exchange earnings derived from Indonesian migrant workers is between US$1.1 to $2.2 billion. Remittances from migrant workers in 2003 alone amounted to $1.86 billion, making them the second largest contributor to Indonesia's foreign exchange earnings after oil and gas.

About 72 percent of Indonesian migrant workers are women. Over 90 percent of these women are employed as domestic workers in countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and the Middle East. The two main destinations are Malaysia (40 percent) and Saudi Arabia (37 percent). Of these countries, only Hong Kong provides a legal framework for the protection of domestic workers rights, such as working hours, standardized wages, leave, and other conditions of employment.

Indonesian migrant workers therefore contribute a great deal to the Indonesian economy and society and are an increasingly important part of its labor force. Labor migration offers prospects of employment for many who would have little chance of finding jobs at home and therefore helps to relieve the unemployment problems in Indonesia.

The challenge for government is to find ways of maximizing migration's contribution to growth and development and providing appropriate protections and support for Indonesians who want to work in other countries.

So what needs to be done? Providing better protections for migrant workers will involve work at different levels. At the international level, there must be acceptance that core labor standards provide a minimum set of global rules for labor in the global economy.

At the national level, some of the key areas requiring improvement include: the provision of accurate, timely and appropriate information to potential migrant workers about costs involved and wages and conditions at the destination; effective control of recruiters and middlemen so that commissions, travel and recruiting costs are charged at realistic levels to encourage less undocumented labor migration.

There have already been significant improvements in the support provided to migrant workers through Indonesian embassies in many receiving countries. There is scope for developing these services further through the posting of Labor Attaches in more embassies and the encouragement of support groups for Indonesian workers abroad.

Providing better protections will involve the national government working with provincial and district governments on some of these measures. Consideration should also be given to ways of upgrading the skills base of the migrant labor workforce, in order to improve their competitiveness and bargaining power. It is sensible to commit resources to develop one of Indonesia's largest export industries -- and especially to one which brings benefits to many ordinary Indonesian women and men.

It is essential that there be dialogue with, and involvement of, key stakeholders, service providers, and monitoring agencies. Trade unions and community organizations can assist migrant workers by organizing them and giving voice to their concerns. Most important of all, there is a need to involve migrant workers themselves in the efforts to provide better protection.

The fair treatment and protection of migrant workers also relates to their return to Indonesia and integration back into their local communities.

We need to make greater efforts, both to ensure that Indonesia and Indonesians benefit from the opportunities of international labor migration, and that proper protections are provided for migrant workers. Effective and sustained action on the part of government is necessary for the development, implementation and monitoring of policies that will maximize the benefits, and minimize the risks, of labor migration.

Alan Boulton, is ILO country director for Indonesia. The above view is strictly personal.