Yesterday, April 30, 2017, after attending the ASEAN Summit in the Philippines, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) made a working visit to Hong Kong. The President’s arrival was warmly welcomed by the Indonesian community. In addition to holding meetings with the Hong Kong government to discuss cooperation and investment, President Jokowi also met with Indonesian migrant workers in the country.
A number of civil society organizations affiliated with the Migrant Workers Network (JBM) hope that the President’s visit will also serve as an opportunity to evaluate and improve services, as well as the fulfillment and protection of the rights of Indonesian migrant workers employed in Hong Kong and other countries. This is because, according to the JBM, many issues related to migrant workers in Hong Kong remain unresolved to this day, such as the subpar services provided by the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI), rampant overcharging and unilateral termination of employment, high rates of violations of religious freedom, and others.
Not only that, but Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong—the majority of whom work in the informal sector as domestic workers, particularly women—are often victims of exploitation and discrimination. They frequently work beyond their scheduled hours and are subjected to physical, mental, and sexual abuse. In fact, despite working so hard, many migrant workers are not paid.
In light of these issues, on International Workers’ Day (May 1), JBM urged the government to immediately take five actions. What are they? Read the full details in the following JBM press release.
Press Release
In Hong Kong, They Suffer; In Their Own Country, They Face Overlapping Challenges: A Complete Overhaul of Migration Governance for Genuine Protection of Migrant Workers
On April 30, 2017, President Joko Widodo is scheduled to travel to Hong Kong after visiting the Philippines. According to reports from various media outlets, the main purpose of the visit to Hong Kong is to meet with Indonesian migrant workers there, followed by a series of events, including a business meeting aimed at boosting investment and cultural cooperation.
Indonesian migrant workers—the vast majority of whom work as domestic workers—will also hold a series of events, such as migrant parades and demonstrations, to voice the demands of migrant workers in various destination countries.
The Migrant Workers Network (JBM) is a coalition of 28 organizations based in Indonesia and abroad, including in Hong Kong, which has been actively monitoring discussions on the revision of Law No. 39 of 2004 and other government policies since 2010. One of the policies that still needs improvement in the revision is the migration service system for Indonesian migrant workers, both domestically and abroad. In Hong Kong itself, the management of migrant worker services provided by the Indonesian Consulate General in Hong Kong is still not optimal. Data on cases received by SBMI over the past two years (2015–2017) shows 1,501 complaints from various countries. Specifically regarding Hong Kong, which has long been considered better at providing protection for migrant workers, it turns out there are still many issues (215 cases), with 93% involving violations of placement agreements that result in migrant workers facing exorbitant costs or overcharging.
Furthermore, according to Hariyanto from SBMI, in 93% of overcharging cases, migrant workers were unaware of and did not possess the placement agreement documents. Yet the placement agreement regulated under Ministerial Regulation No. 22 of 2014 already specifies the components of placement costs in Hong Kong. If contractual oversight had been implemented starting from the pre-placement phase, the issue of overcharging could have been minimized. Hariyanto also questioned the Consulate General’s oversight of PPTKIS partners or cy in Hong Kong, as overcharging is not solely the fault of PPTKIS but also of cy in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, according to Government Regulation No. 04 of 2015, overseas oversight falls under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through Indonesian diplomatic missions.
Nursalim of the Migrant Institute added that various issues in Hong Kong remain unresolved to this day. These issues include subpar services provided by the Indonesian Consulate General, overcharging, religious freedom, SIMKIM, narcotics, unilateral layoffs, and job trafficking.
When it comes to government services, most migrant workers do not receive a prompt response when they report their problems to the Indonesian Consulate General. This has led migrant workers to prefer reporting their problems to local NGOs, local labor unions, and other social institutions. As for the issue of SIMKIM-based biometric passports, according to Nursalim, this has actually become a dilemma for migrant workers in Hong Kong. The reason is that before the SIMKIM policy was implemented, data falsification regarding Indonesian migrant workers departing through licensed recruitment agencies (PJTKI) still occurred frequently. Poor domestic management of migrant worker placement has resulted in workers facing legal issues in their host countries. Additionally, they face the risk of being deported and being unable to return to work in Hong Kong due to the SIMKIM system.
Female migrant workers find themselves in a vulnerable position due to their work as domestic workers. Their working conditions include excessive working hours, physical and psychological abuse, being transferred to different employers, sexual harassment, and even being denied wages.
Of all the complaints received, the Migrant Institute has received the most from Hong Kong. In 2016 alone, the Migrant Institute received 22 complaints. From 2011 to 2016, the Migrant Institute received a total of 211 complaints from Hong Kong. Overall, this figure ranked first almost every year (except in 2015).
According to 2016 placement data from the National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers Abroad (BNP2TKI), the number of Indonesian migrant workers placed in Hong Kong was recorded at 3,877. That figure rose to 4,695 in 2017 (January–March 2017). This figure ranked as the third-largest among the placement countries recorded by BNP2TKI.
Savitri Wisnu, National Secretary of JBM, attributes the problems faced by migrant workers in Hong Kong to inadequate migration governance. This lack of governance is not limited to Hong Kong but is also present in Indonesia. For example, when it comes to case handling, migrant workers must visit three government agencies and rewrite the chronology of their case because the jurisdictions of these three agencies differ. Consequently, migrant workers are disadvantaged in this situation because they must visit all three agencies and request updates from each. It is hoped that the revision of Law No. 39 of 2004 will establish well-coordinated, integrated, and non-overlapping institutional frameworks and services, along with measurable oversight, and prevent the delegation of migration governance to the private sector.
In this context, the JBM member, HRWG, highlighted protection services in four destination countries, one of which is Hong Kong. Based on the interviews and assessments conducted, Daniel Awigra of HRWG identified two key issues regarding these services: first, the treatment and services provided by the Indonesian Consulate General to migrant workers remain discriminatory. Indonesian migrant workers are considered to have a lower status than Indonesian citizens residing in Hong Kong. This is evident in the manner of service and the courtesy shown by the staff of the Indonesian Consulate General in Hong Kong toward Indonesian migrant workers when processing complaints and work document applications. Second, the provision of information services remains limited. For example, there are no announcements or public outreach efforts accessible to migrant workers in Hong Kong regarding the list of agencies accredited in Hong Kong. Yet this information is crucial to prevent migrant workers from renewing contracts with agencies that have poor accreditation.
Given the complexity of issues facing migrant workers—particularly women—both domestically and abroad, Risca Dwi of Solidaritas Perempuan stated, “It is crucial for the government to begin shifting its paradigm from viewing migrant workers as commodities to recognizing them as human beings whose rights deserve protection.” The revision of Law No. 39/2004 must prioritize the principles of human rights promotion, non-discrimination, gender equality, transparency, accountability, and participation. The state must truly be present in serving and protecting migrant workers and must no longer delegate this responsibility to the private sector.”
Based on the data and issues outlined above, the Migrant Workers Network, in commemoration of International Workers’ Day 2017, reminds and urges the government to:
- Ensuring that working abroad is a right to decent work and fair wages. Therefore, the government must provide all kinds of protective measures, ranging from educational initiatives such as technical and vocational training, to educational policies that ensure all Indonesian citizens have access to decent work and fair wages, as well as enacting regulations to ensure that existing job markets guarantee decent work, fair wages, and a decent standard of living
- Seriously improve and evaluate the management of services and protection for migrant workers at the Indonesian Consulate General in Hong Kong, including job placement services, information regarding the "blacklist," assistance with work permit documentation, and case handling services—ranging from the hotline to both litigation and non-litigation resolutions—based on the principles of a victim-centered approach, non-discrimination, transparency, promptness, accountability, and fairness.
- Seriously address the content of the revision to Law No. 39 of 2004 in accordance with the principle of comprehensive protection based on the 1990 UN Convention and CEDAW. The content of the revised articles must: (a) Guarantee rights and protection for migrant workers based on the principles of respect for human rights, justice, non-discrimination, equality, transparency, accountability, and participation; (b) Minimize the excessive role of private recruitment agencies and assign greater responsibility to the State; (c) Guarantee and ensure safe migration governance for migrant workers, including mechanisms for coordination and synchronization of roles among governments—both between central government agencies and between the central government and local governments—to preventoverlappingpolicyimplementation, which would actually harm migrant workers from the pre-employment period until Indonesian migrant workers return to their home regions.
- Include the Indonesian Domestic Workers Protection Bill (RUU PPRT) in the Priority Legislative Program so that the bill can be promptly deliberated and enacted as a form of recognition of domestic work
- Immediately ratify ILO Convention No. 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers and ratify ILO Convention No. 188 on Work in the Fishing Industry
Jakarta, April 30, 2017
Migrant Workers Network (JBM)
SBMI, KSPI, KSBSI, KSPSI, Aspek Indonesia, FSPSI Reformasi, ASETUC, IMWU Netherlands, KOTKIHO, BMI SA, Serantau Malaysia, UNIMIG, HRWG, JALA PRT, LBH Jakarta, LBH Apik Jakarta, ADBMI Lombok, LBH FAS, Migrant Institute, PBHI Jakarta, Solidaritas Perempuan, INFEST Yogyakarta, TURC, Seruni Banyumas, PBH-BM, Migrant Aids, Institute for Ecosoc Rights, JBM Central Java
Contact:
Savitri Wisnu: 0821-2471-4978 / Hariyanto: 0852-5930-7953 / Nursalim: 0811-8163-691