Activists Say The Current Government Has Failed Migrants

March 4, 2009 The Jakarta Globe
Activists Say The Current Government Has Failed Migrants

An advocate for the rights of migrant workers said on Tuesday that the lives of Indonesians working overseas had not significantly improved since the last elections.

Anis Hidayah, chairwoman of Migrant Care, said the government that emerged from the 2004 elections should have done more to improve the lives of migrant workers.

“The current government has not produced adequate legislation to protect migrant workers living overseas, who face problems such as violence and sexual abuse,” she said.

About 6.5 million Indonesians currently work overseas and 73 percent of them have had to deal with “violence, rights and sexual abuse problems,” Anis said.

Eva Kusuma Sundari, a legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, said the government needed to do more. “We need an organization that oversees efforts to protect the rights of migrant workers,” she said.

Part of the problem is that Indonesia has failed to respect the rights of workers at home, she said. “Foreign officials often ask me why Indonesia doesn’t have any laws to protect domestic workers,” Eva said.

“It is not the responsibility of nongovernmental organizations to protect migrant workers. These matters should be dealt with between national governments.”

Aryo Judhoko, a legislative candidate for the Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS, said the party offered a number of services to migrant workers. “We proposed a law on migrant workers and have urged the government to reform the insurance system for migrant workers,” Aryo said.

But Nova Riyanti Yusuf, a legislative candidate for the Democratic Party, said the government had protected migrants. “It has done a lot on migrant health issues,” she said. “Unhealthy workers can’t work abroad. Contrary to some claims, the government is not exploiting workers.”