Sidoarjo – The Executive Office of the President (KSP) under Chief of Staff Moeldoko said that Prospective Indonesian Migrant Workers (CPMI) should be able to work abroad again, promising solvency to deployment postponement.
While host countries like Korea, Japan and Taiwan have begun to reopen their borders for Indonesian workers, problems at home remain due to complicated administrative issues in post-pandemic situations.
“We have to find some sort of debottlenecking to such obstacles hampering our migrant workers to go to work abroad. The deployment of migrant workers contributes to the annual national workforce employment,” said Moeldoko, during an official visit to one of the Indonesian migrant worker placement companies (P3MI), in Sidoarjo, East Java, Sunday (17 / 7).
Previously, Moeldoko met with the Association of Indonesian Manpower Service Companies (APJATI) in Jakarta, on Tuesday (5/7), discussing some issues regarding the Computerized System for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (Sisko P2MI).
Financial cost management by the P3MI remains to be one of the challenging issues that hinder Indonesian migrant workers to be deployed abroad.
The cost components include health certificates, certificates of competency and BPJS health membership, job training certificates, transportation fees, as well as COVID-19 tests and psychological tests charges, tickets and passport – visas fees.
“In certain countries like Malaysia, the costs are borne by the employer. However, in other countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Korea, some components are not being paid by the employer or the host government. There needs to be an agreement between the home and the host countries to serve the best interest of the applied law in Indonesia,” explained Moeldoko.
The former TNI Commander emphasized that the government has actually provided financial support for migrant workers deployment fees in the form of Microcredit program (KUR) delivered through commercial banks, as mandated by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy Regulation No. 1/2022.
However, according to the data of the Ministry of Finance’s Program Credit Information System (SIKP) as of July 15, 2022, only Rp. 17.6 billion has been used for CPMI of Rp. 390 billion total budget allocation in 2022 for KUR. It only counts for approximately five percent.
Prospective migrant workers told Moeldoko in person that they met with difficulties applying for KUR as there were no placement fees details. Ironically, the abroad placement fees become one important requirement for banks in disbursing KUR.
One hundred percent cash deposit guarantee as an additional requirement is also burdening migrant workers applying for such the microcredit program.
“KSP will soon discuss the matters with the Ministry of Manpower, BP2MI and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. One thing for sure, the government put the protection of PMIs as the main concern,” said Moeldoko.
In one additional note, Moeldoko directly advised the migrant workers whom he met. Saying that migrant workers must make the best advantage of training programs provided by the government.
“You have to really study here (in the training center). Learn the foreign language, working skills, and working culture of the host country. Perform your best work, maintain your best behavior, those will surely please your employer. The most important thing is to learn financial management so that you can gain the highest advantage from it,” added Moeldoko.
