Labour migration
Rights protection and decent work for Indonesian migrant workers through multi-stakeholders cooperation
A series of events were conducted by the ILO and its partners to better protect the rights of Indonesian migrant workers through initiatives on gender responsiveness fair recruitment and responsible business conduct.
9 January 2025
JAKARTA, Indonesia (ILO News) - The ILO and its partners jointly organized a series of activities to commemorate the International Migrants Day. The first event was held by the ILO in partnership with the Ministry of Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection, the Indonesian Employers’ Association (Apindo) and the Migrant Worker Network (JBM) from 16-17 December. A total of 79, of whom 31 were women, representatives of private placement agencies and trade union confederations joined the training programme on gender responsiveness fair recruitment and responsible business conduct.
“As a new ministry, our goal is to strengthen the good governance of labour migration. The ILO programme have strategically aligned and supported the government priorities, especially in improving the quality of private placement agencies both for management and services,” stated Ahnas, OIC Director General for Placement Indonesia Migrant Worker, Ministry of Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection. “A joint partnership among ILO, JBM and Apindo in building the capacity of agencies on gender responsiveness fair recruitment and responsible business conduct that is highly relevant with the realization of the Integrity Pact into practice.”
As a new ministry, our goal is to strengthen the good governance of labour migration. The ILO programme have strategically aligned and supported the government priorities, especially in improving the quality of private placement agencies both for management and services.
Ahnas, OIC Director General for Placement Indonesia Migrant Worker, Ministry of Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection
The training programme aimed to enhance the commitment and capacity of senior level management of the private placement agencies in developing, implementing and monitoring the operationalization of gender responsiveness fair recruitment’s code of conduct and due diligence instrument. The training programme also aimed to enhance the role of Apindo and the Association of Placement Agencies in providing technical assistance to their members in recognizing the needs of migrant workers, managing risks in relation to trafficking in person, forced labour as well as labour rights violation and improving the effectiveness of good corporate governance that will impact the labour protections that are consistent with international labour standards, including ILO’s General Principles and Operational Guidelines for Fair Recruitment and Definition of Recruitment Fees and Related Costs.
The second event was a two-day commemoration initiated by the Ministry of Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection from 17-18 December in the forms of public dialogue and the Integrity Pact Signing by 481 private placement agencies which included a commitment to implement fair recruitment principles. This event was attended by 750 participants of whom 300 were women, representing governments, migrant worker union, civil society organizations, academia, and private placement agencies.
The ILO supported the event by becoming one of the resource persons in the public dialogue. Sinthia Harkrisnowo, ILO’s Programme Coordinator for Labour Migration together with Wahyu Mijaya, Head of Cirebon District, shared good practices from the award-winning Integrated Gender Responsiveness-One-Roof Integrated Service (LTSA-MRC) in Cirebon district. The Ministry of Manpower awarded the Indonesian Migrant Worker award to Cirebon’s LTSA-MRC in 2021 - 2024 for providing the best labour migration services for Indonesian migrant workers.
The ILO hopes that these series of activities would further better protect migrant workers as stated by the ILO Director-General that ensuring their rights and access to decent work is not only a moral imperative but also an economic necessity.
Sinthia Harkrisnowo, ILO’s Programme Coordinator for Labour Migration
Supported by the ILO, the integrated LTSA and MRC has provided provides outreach services to villages, pre-post-employment consultation, psycho-social counselling service, case handling, legal aid, training for prospective migrant workers and the provision of authoritative information for migrant workers and their families in Cirebon.
“The ILO is pleased to be part of the effort to strengthen the capacity and knowledge on gender responsiveness fair recruitment principles, especially for private placement agencies. To date, most women migrant workers still have lack of understanding about their labour rights, recruitment processes and costs and regulations in Indonesia and destination countries. Thus, the ILO hopes that these series of activities would further better protect migrant workers as stated by the ILO Director-General that ensuring their rights and access to decent work is not only a moral imperative but also an economic necessity,” concluded Sinthia Harkrisnowo, ILO’s Programme Coordinator for Labour Migration.