to be adopted more comprehensively into policies and programs:

1. Recognize the role of village governments with regard to pro-tection mechanisms established by the national government, in-cluding in relevant laws.

2. Insist that the national and sub-national government assist vil-lages in developing migration data in a participatory manner. A participatory process that in-volves CBOs is key to compre-hensive and accountable data collection.

3. Foster cooperation between dis-trict and village governments in drafting village regulations in favor of protecting migrant work-ers. Partnerships allow village regulations to be extensively introduced across villages. Vil-lage regulations that are only enacted in a few villages open up opportunities for the falsification of documents in other villages with more lax regulations. Such cooperative ties also ensure that relevant local government agen-cies are informed and involved in the implementation of village regulations.

4. Urge that both national and sub-national governments intensively and consistently provide updat-ed information on safe migration to be disseminated to the public. Information released to the pub-lic should ideally include the list of PPTKIS and their perfor-mance.

5. Help villages build their capacity to put forward recommendations and provide consultation on safe migration to aspiring migrant workers.

In the deployment of migrant workers, villages become the primary recruiting ground target-ed by labor sponsors/brokers. Due to weak government control, the recruitment process in most cases is rife with problems. An uninformed public also means reliance on information provided by the broker/sponsor/PPTKIS (private recruitment agency) that is typically inaccurate and mis-leading, thus documents can easily be falsified. On the other hand, village au-thorities are simply associated with the administrative require-ment of ‘stamping” the necessary papers for the departure process. Villages in fact can play a more assertive role. Despite its admin-istrative function, within the bu-reaucratic hierarchy, the village government is the closest to migrant workers and their over-seas departure process.

A Tifa-BNP2TKI-JSDF partner-ship program through the World Bank has highlighted on the fol-lowing aspects essentially relat-ed to optimizing the role of vil-lage governments in protecting migrant workers: 1. A village regulation was intro-

duced to only confer village chiefs with the power to approve departures after consulting with the prospective migrant worker. Consultation is conducted by engaging family members of aspiring migrant workers for the purpose of educating migrant workers and verifying the credi-bility of brokers/sponsors and PPTKIS responsible for the re-cruitment. 2. Rampant falsification of identi-ty papers for overseas recruit-ment purposes impedes protec-tion and monitoring. Migration-related data collected and updat-ed in a participatory manner jointly by the village government and community-based organiza-tions—citizens’ organizations in migrant worker enclaves—shall facilitate monitoring and the pro-vision of assistance in the event of unfavorable circumstances. Based on implementation experi-ence, migration data held by the government differs from those recorded at the village level.

In reference to the foregoing situation, the government and parliament should take into ac-count several recommendations

POLICY BRIEF

19 September 2013

MIGRANT WORKER PROTECTION FROM THE VILLAGE LEVEL

Involving Village Governments in the Protection of Migrant Workers

The fundamental principle of this program is to ensure that migrant workers be-come the subject of the de-velopment agenda. To this end, efforts should be made to organize and educate migrant worker communities

to critically understand their rights as citizens and specif-ically as migrant workers. Through the community organizing process, CBOs have emerged to educate village residents on the rights of migrant workers, safe migration procedure, problem-solving processes and for collecting migration data.

CBOs also function as the economic engines of villag-es through group or collec-tive enterprises. Further-

more, CBOs help strength-en the bargaining power of [aspiring] migrant workers toward brokers, sponsors, recruiters and local gov-ernments. CBOs also help migrant workers and their

family members muster the cour-age and confi-dence to demand for their rights.

Before this pro-gram was imple-mented, many former migrant workers and their family members were unaware of their rights and the case-handling procedure. Post-program imple-

mentation however, they have gained the necessary knowledge on safe migra-tion.

Through the hard work of community groups, local residents now have the courage to consult on and report their cases. Parale-gals will pass on the com-plaint to authorities. At least 83 cases have been dealt with by paralegals from which 20 cases have been resolved and the

remaining still being pro-cessed.

In Cilacap, the case in which the documents of a CBO member was withheld has prompted the PPTKIS with-holding the papers to return the documents of 11 other migrant workers because the PPTKIS realized that CBO members do not act alone but collectively represent migrant workers as a group.

Milestones achieved by this program:

1. CBOs for migrant workers and their family members have encouraged mem-bers to actively resolve their problems according to the proper proce-dure.

2. CBOs works closely with the village govern-ment to ensure protection for themselves dur-ing the migration process.

3. CBOs help edu-cate others on their rights.

4. CBOs increase the bar-gaining power of migrant

Encourage the Establishment of CBOs as a Form of Public Participation in Protecting Migrant Workers

Page 2 MIGRANT WORKER PROTECTION FROM THE VILLAGE LEVEL

Muhtamiroh, former migrant worker from Karangsembung Village, Nusawungu Sub-District, Cilacap

"My original school certificate was withheld by recruiter PT. PPU in Cilacap. They promised to return the document to my family once deductions to my salary has been made for the next seven months. They did not keep their promise. My husband was even asked to look for the certificate by himself at the recruitment agency, but to no avail. It was kept hidden. When I returned, I again asked the recruiter about my certificate, but they claimed that it could not be found. I became suspicious par-ticularly when they offered me another overseas employment opportunity without having to present my school certificate. I was doubtful and had no idea on how to deal with my problem. Five years after my return, I joined a migrant worker community forum in Cilacap that receives facilitation from Lakpesdam and Tifa Foundation. I spoke out about my problem and then completed a complaint form. Along with my other colleagues, I brought my case to the Cilacap manpower and transmigration office, P4TKI Cilacap and other authorized parties. Five months after I filed the complaint, I was contacted by the recruit-ment agency. Without further ado, the recruiter handed over my certificate and the head of the recruiter’s branch office said, “Why must you report this. It could have been resolved amicably without making a formal complaint.". Following my com-plaint, the certificates of 10 other migrant workers who departed through the recruiter were also returned".

workers and their family members in dealing with various issues.

Based on this experience, recommendations that the government, civil society groups and donors can adopt include the following:

1. Encourage community organizing and the es-tablishment of groups to build their critical awareness and allow them to participate ac-tively along with the government and other stakeholders in resolv-ing various migration-related issues.

2. Promote empowerment programs for migrant workers not only eco-nomically but also in terms of their critical education as active citi-zens.

broaden access to infor-mation on migrant work-ers to extend across re-gions that were once un-reachable. PLIK can also be considered as a hub for online migration data collection.

Before making the decision to work overseas, prospective migrant workers ideally need to seek adequate information from reliable sources. Under this ideal scenario, aspiring migrant workers are aware of possible risks and benefits, as well the necessary documentation and other matters that need to be prepared prior to departure. This is expected to reduce mi-grant workers’ vulnerabilities.

In practice however, infor-mation is not as readily acces-sible. One of the main sources of information is from the bro-ker/sponsor/PPTKIS which is often not entirely accurate.

In light of this, several initiatives have been taken. One of which is the establishment of Mahnet-tik or community technology center (CTC) that is expected to assist migrant workers and their family members in obtain-ing information through the

internet. In reality however, not much information is available online. This has inspired Tifa Foundation to help develop a migrant worker web portal at www.buruhmigran.or.id.

Based on Tifa’s experi-ence, the following should be taken into account in order to maximize access to information for migrant workers:

1. Ensure that every rele-vant government agency provides information on labor migration accessi-ble to the public. Basic information that should at least be made availa-ble include: List of PPTKIS and

their track record, in-cluding performance assessments

Migration procedure Breakdown of costs for

arranging the necessary identity papers and oth-er migration-related ex-penses Migration financing mechanism Job order Published information on destination country Insurance and claims procedure Information should be made available in print and online, easily ac-cesible, by relevant insti-tutions. Such infor-mation is currently not available in the official websites of the respec-tive institution. 2. Integrate services from PLIK (sub-district internet service center) with information ser-vices for migrant work-ers. This is expected to

Guaranteeing Access to Information for Migrant Workers

Page 3 19 SEPTEMBER 2013

Prioritize Economic Empowerment Programs for Migrant Workers and Their Family Members and Ensure Routine Coordination

30% of migrant workers’ salary is spent on com-munication, and the rest for daily necessities, housing, children’s edu-cation and other con-sumption items. Repeat labor migration occurs due to absence of enough savings and investment for the future that cannot be gained without working overseas. This program therefore has achieved the following milestones:

1.Training on household financial management to help migrant workers and their family members bet-ter plan their finances and have productive savings.

2.Entrepreneurial training for migrant workers and their family members to help them establish col-lective small/medium-scale enterprises.

From these activities, at least 700 people have been trained on financial management, and 151 now act as trainers them-selves. Some 124 people have also been trained to pass on their knowledge on business planning to village residents. At least 87 collective enterprises have also merged at the rural level.

One of the lessons learnt

is that collective enterpris-es can help initiate life-style changes in rural areas and break the mi-gration cycle by opening up promising business opportunities.

Recommendations that the government can adopt are as follows:

1. Prioritize migrant workers and their family members as the target group for change through economic empow-erment programs. This is because they can become trendsetters or

agents of economic change for other villagers.

2. Coordinate various communi-ty empowerment programs, specifically for migrant work-ers and their family members, in different state ministries/institutions to ensure effec-tiveness, efficiency and accu-rate targeting according to the needs of migrant workers.

3. Push for the formation of in-tegrated teams for coordinat-ing empowerment programs intended for migrant workers and their family members.

The centralized regulatory framework for the placement of migrant workers further reduces the powers of local governments. Several aspects burdensome for migrant workers and their family members include:

1) Pre-departure training. Migrant worker families must pay to visit their own relatives housed in PPTKIS place-ment centers prior to their overseas departure. This also increases place-ment cost borne by migrant workers.

2) Case handling at the provincial and national level. Paralegals have com-plained of steep costs and a time-consuming process in reporting a case with no guarantee of having it done in a single day.

3) Migration data remains overlapping among institutions and inaccurate. Migration-related public services should start from the village level

which becomes the basis for a migration database for aggregation at the sub-district, district, provincial and national level. As part of public service delivery, mi-gration data should be inte-grated into the database on demographics and house-hold resources. The provi-sion of migration services should not be a standalone effort but an integral part of civil registry services.

Milestones achieved in this pro-gram include:

The district of Banyuwangi and BP3TKI Surabaya have agreed on the SOP for case handling whereby cases can be lodged to the Banyu-wangi social affairs, man-power and transmigration office for follow-up by BP3TKI until resolution.

Majasari village government has urged local residents and the village administra-tion to keep track of the credibility of PPTKIS in re-cruiting migrant workers.

CBOs collect migration data, later used by the village government. The database now serves as the basis for

synchronizing data held by BNP2TKI for verifying the accuracy of field data against BNP2TKI data.

Based on reflections from parale-gals involved in this program, the following actions are recom-mended:

1. District governments should be authorized to conduct capacity building efforts (pre-departure edu-cation) based on an effec-tive curriculum with com-petent instructors support-ed by adequate facilities and infrastructure.

2. District governments can accept and follow up on migration-related cases through cooperation with the provincial BP3TKI.

3. Village governments are given the authority to monitor and take the nec-essary action for prevent-ing non-procedural migra-tion processes.

4. Promote migration data services at the rural level integrated into the village administration system, civil registry and immigra-tion services to ensure smooth inter-sectoral communication of data and information. This will help minimize the risk of data falsification and du-plication, and facilitate data retrieval. This re-quires the involvement of the government at the cen-tral, provincial and local level.

Importance of decentralizing power to build the capacity of migrant workers,

and for handling cases

Page 4

Wartono SPd. MSi, Majasari Village Head, Sliyeg Sub-District, Indramayu

“I am a teacher, husband to a former migrant worker, and have even acted as a sponsor. When I was elected village chief, I became aware of numerous problems which later prompted me to issue a village regulation on the departure process. Before any departure, I will also consult with their family members to ensure that they understand the risks involved and their rights, and are aware of the track record of their recruitment company. It has not been easy however and now I am seen as obstructing those who want to depart for work abroad My intention in fact is to protect. The central or provincial government should make it possible for village governments to have the authority to protect their citizens which will allow the procedure that I have applied to be replicated in other places.”

MIGRANT WORKER PROTECTION FROM THE VILLAGE LEVEL

Migrant worker place-ment is currently in the hands of the private re-cruitment agency or PPTKIS. This existing deployment process cre-ates problems for migrant workers and their family members in program locations.

1. Citizens have no easy access to visit their family members placed in temporary shelters.

2. The education of prospective migrant workers remains focused on the provi-sion of skills instead of their rights as migrant workers and how to deal with problems or a crisis situation. The imple-mentation of the education process is also not being moni-tored.

3. The presence of freelance brokers/sponsors increases the risk of non-procedural depar-tures.

4. Original documents are withheld by PPTKIS to coerce prospective migrant workers to depart

through the PPTKIS concerned.

5. There are recruit-ment agencies unre-sponsive to public complaints.

To address these issues, this program has achieved the following milestones:

1. CBOs have identi-fied and demanded recruiters to return withheld documents. This was a suc-cessful collective initiative as the bar-gaining power of CBOs/groups is more potent than making such de-mands individually.

2. Raising awareness through CBOs on working abroad with-out going through brokers/sponsors, but directly through the local manpower and transmigration offices.

3. Report on brokers/sponsors who fail to deploy migrant workers through legal procedures. This was also a suc-cessful action where a specific case was

ruled in favor of the victim/complainant who was still under-aged. The broker/sponsor was sen-tenced to 3.5 years in prison.

4. CBOs exerted pres-sure on PPTKIS by lodging a complaint to authorities if the recruiter fails to re-spond when a mi-grant worker has lost contact with relatives or has lost her per-sonal or travel docu-ments. This manner of group pressure was effective and the PPTKIS was quick to respond.

Recommendation:

1. District govern-ments need to inte-grate pre-departure education into the local education of-fice’s program for out-of-school edu-cation which will be beneficial for every citizen seeking em-ployment.

2. Transparency and accountability from the government and PPTKIS to the pub-lic on placement costs to ensure that

The Experience of CBO Berkah Sejahtera, Adipala Sub-District, Cilacap When we received a complaint on loss of contact with a migrant worker lodged by her relatives, I called the PPTKIS that arranged for her departure in order to seek information on her whereabouts. The recruiter only provided a phone number which the company claimed was that of the migrant worker’s employer in Malaysia. It turned out to be a false phone number. I once again contacted the PPTKIS and complained that they had given me the wrong phone number. When I stated that I will report the recruiter through the proper channels if it still refuses to give the correct number, the company was not pleased and felt threatened. The PPTKIS eventually provided the correct phone number, thus resuming contact between migrant worker and her family members.

Promoting PPTKIS Transparency and Accountability

Page 5 19 SEPTEMBER 2013

aspiring migrant workers make the least costly pay-ment in compliance with government policies.

3. Impose sanctions against PPTKIS or brokers who with-hold original per-sonal documents or other papers that a migrant worker should hold.

4. Urge village gov-ernments to desist from granting ap-proval of any depar-ture if the broker cannot present the recruitment permit from the local man-power and transmi-gration office, job order from PPTKIS, and formal employ-ment contract from PPTKIS as its em-ployee.

5. Urge the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration and its local offices, as well as village gov-ernments and CBOs to conduct public oversight of PPTKIS through web-based report card on PPTKIS, consumer com-

YAYASAN TIFA

Migrant Worker Protection from the Village Level

Jl. Jaya Mandala II No. 14e Jakarta 12870

Phone: 021 - 829 2776 Fax: 021 - 837 83648 E-mail: public@tifafoundation.org www.tifafoundation.org

3. Push for the establishment of an integrated team for coordinating empowerment programs for migrant workers and their family members to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.

BNP2TKI:

1. Work with the Ministry of Man-power and Transmigration and its local offices to provide case-handling services.

2. Bring placement services closer to the district level (minimal) in order to help job seekers obtain proper services.

Ministry of Manpower and Trans-migration:

1. Allow the lodging of public com-plaints through web-based re-port card to monitor the track record of PPTKIS as the labor placement service provider and report card for assessing effec-tiveness of insurance schemes.

2. Continually and intensively pro-vide updated information on safe migration and insurance claims procedure to be dissemi-nated to the public. Information should ideally include the list of PPTKIS and their performance.

3. Encourage the role of local governments in pre-departure education and ensure that the curriculum builds migrant work-ers’ understanding of their rights and become active and critical citizens.

Ministry of Home Affairs:

1. Push for migration data services

DPR (House of Representatives):

1. Revisions to Law No. 39/2004 need to incorporate the role and powers of the local government right through to the village level for overseeing the labor recruit-ment process, developing mi-gration data integrated into the civil registry and taking the ap-propriate measures to prevent non-procedural migration.

2. Field recruitment officers (brokers/sponsors) should be the permanent employees of PPTKIS. This is to ensure that PPTKIS can be held accounta-ble for its actions.

3. Revisions to Law No. 39/2004 need to push for the decentrali-zation of powers with regard to the pre-departure process, mon-itoring and case handling.

Coordinating Ministry of People’s Welfare:

1. Give priority to migrant workers and their family members as the target group for change through economic empowerment pro-grams. This is because they can act as trendsetters/agents of economic change for other vil-lagers.

2. Coordinate various community empowerment programs, specif-ically for migrant workers and their family members, intro-duced by different state minis-tries/agencies to ensure effec-tiveness, efficiency and accu-rate targeting according to the needs of migrant workers.

at the village level integrated into the village administration system, civil registry and immigration services to ensure smooth communication of inter-sectoral data and information. This reduces the risk of data falsifica-tion and duplication, and facilitates data retrieval. The involvement of the government at the central, provincial and local level is also necessary.

Ministry of Education and Culture:

1. The capacity building of prospective migrant workers should be made available as part of education ser-vices for citizens, integrated into out-of-school or vocational learning.

Ministry of Communication and Infor-matics:

Ensure that every relevant govern-ment agency provides easily accessi-ble print and online information on labor migration. Basic information should at least include the list of PPTKIS and their track record, and performance assessment; migration procedure; breakdown of costs for arranging identity documents and other migration-related expenses; migration financing mechanism; job order; published information on desti-nation country; insurance and claims procedure.

2. Integrate PLIK (sub-district internet center) services with information delivery for migrant workers. This is expected to ensure that information on migrant workers is accessible to regions previously unreachable. PLIK can also serve as a hub for online migration data collection.

Summary of Recommendations

In collabor ati on with:

WITH SUPPORT FROM: