Indonesia has entered into various bilateral agreements on the protection and deployment of its workers in other countries. However, some of these agreements have expired or are expiring, and in few cases, the placement of Indonesian workers overseas was not preceded by any government-to-government agreements, as in the case of Singapore. This article presents a snapshot of Indonesia’s cooperation – and the lack thereof – with some of the most popular destination countries for Indonesian migrant workers by region.

 

Southeast Asia

  • Malaysia

On May 13, 2006, the governments of Indonesia and Malaysia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Recruitment and Placement of Indonesian Domestic Workers. Five years later in 2011, this agreement was renewed through the adoption of a Protocol to strengthen the protection of Indonesian domestic workers, extending the agreement for an additional five years. Since then, no other agreements on the same matter have been signed by both governments. In 2016, however, Indonesia proposed a new draft of agreement to Malaysia, but discussion over this draft has been elusive, particularly on seven main issues: One Channel System for labor recruitment, social security system, minimum wage (to be raised to RM 1,500), One Domestic Workers One Task, regularization of undocumented migrants, implementation of a single medical checkup to reduce placement fees, and the strengthening of consular services.

  • Singapore

As one of the largest destination countries for Indonesian workers, Singapore does not have any agreements with the Indonesian government on the protection and deployment of Indonesian migrant workers. In 2016, however, the National Board for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (now BP2MI) and Singapore’s Association of Employment Agencies signed an MoU on the deployment of Indonesian workers in Singapore, and this agreement has remained in effect to date. Being business-centered in nature, the agreement’s economic interests are seen to override human rights protection. In fact, no articles in the agreement specifically stipulate the employment rights of Indonesian migrant workers.

  • Brunei Darussalam

About 80,000 Indonesians live alongside Brunei’s 400,000 population. That is to say, there is one Indonesian in every six people in Brunei. Despite the large presence of Indonesian workers in Brunei, the governments of both countries have not signed any agreement on their protection. In May 2018, the Indonesian President Jokowi held a bilateral meeting with Sultan Bolkiah to discuss this issue – the results of which were used to draft a memorandum of understanding. However, three years after the bilateral meeting, negotiations between both countries are still underway today and have stagnated over the issues of employment contract and cost structure.

 

East Asia

  • Japan

There are three main deployment schemes under which Indonesians migrate to work in Japan: Economic Partnership Program (EPA), Technical Intern Training Program (TITP), and Specified-Skilled Workers (SSW). The agreement on EPA was signed by the governments of Japan and Indonesia in 2007, through which Indonesian nurse and care-worker ‘candidates’ are sent to work in Japan. Recently in 2019, both governments renewed their MoU on TITP, through which Indonesians are dispatched to work in Japan’s electronics, construction materials, automotive, food and beverage, agriculture, fishery, and service sectors. Under both EPA and TITP, however, these Indonesians are legally seen as ‘trainees’ rather than workers although they perform the same workloads as regular workers. Still in 2019, another agreement was made between both governments on the placement and protection of Indonesian migrant workers under a new scheme called Specified-Skilled Workers.

  • Taiwan

In 2018, the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office in Taipei and the Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Recruitment, Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers in Taiwan. Notable in the MoU is an agreement to collaborate in the promotion of skills-training and employment assistance specifically to women and persons with disabilities through international platforms and regional partnerships. The MoU also stipulates the countries’ commitment to fighting against trafficking-in-persons through information-sharing and ensuring the victims’ safe return to Indonesia.

  • Hong Kong

Indonesian workers form the second largest group of Hong Kong’s migrant residents after the Filipinos. However, there is currently no bilateral agreement between Indonesia and Hong Kong on the protection and placement of Indonesian migrant workers. Instead, all matters pertaining to the said issue are regulated by Hong Kong’s own applicable laws. In 2016 during a meeting with Lai Tung-kwok, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stressed the need to formulate an MoU for stronger bilateral cooperation in the protection of Indonesian migrant workers. The proposal was welcomed by the Hong Kong government, but not much has been done to move this agenda forward since then.

  • South Korea

The out-migration of Indonesian workers to South Korea started in 1994 under a government-to-government scheme called Industrial Trainee Program. This scheme was then replaced by Employment Permit System (EPS), for which the governments of South Korea and Indonesia signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Sending of Indonesian Workers to the Republic of Korea under the EPS in 2004. Since then, the protection and deployment of Indonesian workers have been jointly managed by the National Board for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BP2MI) and Korea Human Resources Development Service. The MoU on EPS was renewed multiple times, including in 2008, 2010, and more recently in 2013.

 

Middle East

  • Saudi Arabia

The governments of Indonesia and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on Technical Arrangement in October 2018. Under this agreement, a new scheme called One Channel System was put in place, allowing for the deployment of qualified Indonesian workers to a limited number of destinations in Saudi Arabia. The new system enables prospective Indonesian migrant workers to sign an employment contract with a registered and verified company only.

  • United Arab Emirates (UAE)

In 2015, the Indonesian Manpower Ministry rolled out the Ministerial Regulation No. 260 Year 2015, placing an indefinite moratorium on the deployment of Indonesian workers to 19 Middle Eastern countries, including the United Arab Emirates. In the same year, however, an MoU on the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons and Protection of Victims was signed by the UAE and Indonesia. Since then, the two governments have been negotiating better terms for the protection of Indonesian migrant workers, including the introduction of One Channel System, which is also being discussed with the governments of Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam. Interestingly, an MoU was signed last year in December 2020 between PT. Binawan Inti Utama, an Indonesian employment agency, and the UAE’s Ministry of Home Affairs to attract and enhance the skills of Indonesian migrants aiming to work in the health sector in the UAE. The MoU signing was witnessed by BP2MI, which represented the Indonesian government.

  • Jordan

The year 2009 marked Indonesia’s first bilateral agreement with the Government of Jordan on the placement and protection of Indonesian domestic workers. However, this agreement came to an end in 2015 as Indonesia halted the deployment of Indonesian migrant workers to individual employers in the Middle East. Despite the moratorium, efforts have been made to explore the possibility of sending Indonesians to work in the garment industry. In 2018, for instance, the Indonesian ambassador to Jordan pondered over the drafting of an MoU on the placement of Indonesian workers in Jordan’s garment industry. Negotiations over this matter are still ongoing.

Updated on 24 September 2021.