Training for Regional and Village Governments of Pemalang Regency on the Protection of Migrant Fishing Ship Crews

Objectives

1. To share perspectives and experiences between regional labour migration organizations and village governments in protecting migrant workers and fishers and their families;
2. To strengthen the capacity and the coordination of regional and village governmental authorities in implementing the Law No 18/2017 on the Protection of Migrant Workers and the Government Regulation No 22/2022 on the Protection of Migrant Fishers.

Background

In the second quarter of 2022, Bank of Indonesia reported that the remittances from Indonesian migrant workers reached US$2.39 billion. Pemalang Regency, which is known as one of the sending areas in Central Java, also has this economic potential as 892 Pemalang residents working abroad as migrant workers and 2,596 as migrant fishing boat crews. In addition, there around 28 Indonesian Migrant Workers Placement Companies (P3MI) and 22 manning agencies. However, they are still vulnerable to exploitation and violence. In 2023, the Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Agency (BP2MI) reported that there were 1,999 complaints from Indonesian migrant workers.

To maximize the protection of Indonesian migrant workers, especially the migrant fishing boat crews, Indonesia had passed the Law No. 18 of 2017 concerning the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers. The Law authorizes the authority of regional and village governments to provide better protection for migrants. The Article 41 of the Law says that: the Regional Government has the duties and responsibilities to disseminate information, create a database, report the evaluation results of the Placement Company, provide protection, carry out supervision, social reintegration, provide and facilitate training for prospective Indonesian migrant workers through vocational training and form a one-stop integrated service.

Meanwhile, the Article 42 says that the Village Government has the duty and responsibility to receive and provide information and job requests from governmental agencies, conduct data collection, monitor departures and returns and empower the prospective Indonesian migrant workers and their families.