Indonesian Domestic Workers Overseas: Their Position and Protection in the Global Labour Market

Abstract

The involvement of Indonesian women in international labour migration in earlier periods was neglected by scholars and other writers due to female migration being considered essentially passive (primarily accompanying parents or husbands). In this global labour market, Indonesia is known as an important labour exporting country and the migrants originate from a number of provinces in the country. The majority of migrant workers from Indonesia are employed in the informal sector, mainly in domestic services sector. There are two main channels for Indonesians seeking employment abroad. First, the potential migrant can directly contact a labour recruitment company known as Perusahaan Jasa Tenaga Kerja Indonesia (PJTKI). Second, the potential migrant may go through a recruiter who has ties with the PJTKI. There is currently no bilateral agreement on the protection of Indonesian migrant labour, especially for Indonesian domestic workers, between the Indonesian government and governments of the majority of destination countries. Keywords:global labour market; Indonesian domestic workers; international labour migration; Perusahaan Jasa Tenaga Kerja Indonesia (PJTKI)