KUPANG. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration wants the government to walk with migrant workers each step of the way, because working abroad is their way of improving their lives and the economies of their hometowns, a minister has said.
“Working abroad is a choice we must honor, respect and protect,” Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri said in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on Tuesday.
One of the concrete ways the state can help migrant workers is by providing certainty in the recruitment, placement and protection of Indonesian migrant workers, he added.
As representatives of the state, Hanif said, each level of government, down to the village level, must play a more active role in documenting Indonesian citizens who wished to work abroad.
“Why are we highlighting village administrations? Because the main center of recruitment, placement and protection for Indonesian migrant workers is the village,” the minister said.
“Villages are the main source of migrant workers. It’s very rare that migrant workers are recruited in cities,” he went on.
Hanif further said more and more brokers were illegally recruiting Indonesian migrant workers in villages.
The selection of six villages as “Desa Peduli Buruh Migran” or Care for Migrant Workers Villages (Desbumi) is one of the government’s moves to give greater protection to Indonesian migrant workers. The six villages are Bao Lali Duli, Beutaran, Dulitukan, Lamatokan, Lamawolo and Tagawiti – all are in Ile Ape district of NTT.
“Working abroad has become a culture in NTT, long before Indonesia’s independence,” said Hanif during the launch of Desbumi on Tuesday. (Djemi Amnifu)
