Indonesian Female Migrant Workers Research Articles

Indonesian Government Policy Regarding Working Hours for Indonesian Female Migrant Workers Abroad in the COVID-19 Pandemic Era

Indonesia has been sending migrant workers since the 1970s and it is mostly dominated by women who work in the informal and low-skilled sectors such as domestic workers, child and elderly caretakers, or factory workers. The economic issue has become the biggest driving factor for these workers to work abroad, in addition to social and cultural factors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, migrant women experienced significant impacts, especially changes to increasingly longer working hours. This research aims to identify COVID-19 on Indonesian female migrant workers and produce policy recommendations that protect women's work rights. This research design is qualitative research with data collection methods through literature study and in-depth interviews with Indonesian female migrant workers abroad. Based on research results, during the pandemic many Indonesian migrant workers worked longer than the applicable standard working hours, approximately more than 15 hours per day. However, there are no clear rules or forms of protection that guarantee the welfare of Indonesian migrant workers by increasing working hours beyond the established standards.

Increasing Reproductive Health Knowledge of Indonesian Female Migrant Workers Through Case Study Learning Method

Background: Reproduction health in migrant workers is complicated and difficult to handle. Health education is one of the methods to increase the knowledge about health reproduction. Aims: The study aimed to analyze the knowledge of migrant workers related to reproductive health through case study learning method. Methods: The study is an intervention research. Total respondents were 135 participants. The intervention was conducted in 3 groups of female migrant workers. The intervention given was related to reproductive health with 4 meetings in the first group, 8 meetings in the second group and 12 meetings in the third group. Group 2 and 3 used case study as learning method. The measurement of knowledge of the three groups was through pre-test and post-test. The statistical test used ANOVA to determine differences between intervention groups and T Test to determine the difference between pre-test and post-test scores. Results: There were significant differences in pre-test and post-test scores in all groups and there was significant difference in post-test scores in groups 1 and 3 of p=0.001. Conclusion: Health education given to migrant workers is proven to be able to increase the level of knowledge related to reproductive health. The group that received case study as learning method and more number of meeting, had a better level of knowledge.

Information Asymmetry and Gender Inequality among Indonesian Female Migrant Workers (IFMW) in East Java Province

Information Asymmetry and Gender Inequality among Indonesian Female Migrant Workers (IFMW) in East Java Province

"Decision to Migrate" of Female Migrant Workers in Sendang Biru, Malang Regency

This paper aims to analyse the decision to migrate among the female villagers in a fishery village in East Java, Indonesia. Based on data from BP2MI, until November 2021, Malang Regency is a pocket for Indonesian female migrant workers. However, in Sendang Biru Hamlet, Tambakrejo Village, Sumbemanjing Wetan District, Malang Regency, East Java Province, only a few women choose to migrate. Using the mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative approaches, this study investigated the causes of international migration of women in the village. The quantitative data are derived from 204 household surveys while the qualitative data are analysed using the interview transcripts from semi-structured interviews with 21 current Indonesian female migrant workers and their left-behind families. The study has arrived at some interpretative points that the Sendang Biru Hamlet is a unique coastal area with specific community characteristics where women were given more access and opportunities in a productive public area by utilizing coastal resources as the main economic income. Therefore, migration is not the only favoured option for the female villagers to improve the living standard.

Efforts of Migrant Care and the Indonesian Government in Realizing the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) Facing the Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia (2015 – 2018)

One of Indonesia’s numerous issues is the size of its workforce. The Indonesian government’s solution is to send Indonesian female migrant workers in the informal sector overseas, including to Saudi Arabia. These difficulties can be divided into three categories: light, moderate, and severe—the death penalty. The death penalty represents the most extreme level of the issue. From 2015 to 2018, several Indonesian female migrant workers in Saudi Arabia’s informal sector had been sentenced to death without any notification from the Saudi Arabian government to the Indonesian government, including the execution of Siti Zaenab in 2015 and the Tuti Tursilawati in 2018 It prompted Migrant Care and the Indonesian government to assist in the execution of Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) in the informal sector.

Examining Gendered State in Protecting Indonesian Women Migrant Workers in Malaysia and Hong Kong

This study addresses efforts made by Indonesian government actors in Malaysia and Hong Kong to protect Indonesian women migrant workers in the informal sector working in both countries. Indonesian female migrant workers in Malaysia were numbered the highest in Southeast Asia, while Indonesian female migrant workers in Hong Kong were the highest in Asia. The theories and ideas used in this research are the concepts of countries and migrant workers suggested by Gunawardana with the classification of brokerage, regulatory and protectionist regimes. The increasing number of work-related cases of violence, access to health, and legal protection indicates that the problems faced by Indonesian women migrant workers and the role of government protection remain partially addressed. By using qualitative research methods, and in-depth interviews, the current study found that Indonesian government actors in Malaysia made efforts to protect two women migrant workers who were victims of violence. However, it was not only due to protection efforts but also because of the role that civil society had in their efforts to resolve the cases. Meanwhile, Indonesian government actors in Hong Kong had not performed optimally in seeking protective measures for victims of violence, and there was a dominant protective role maintained by civil society in Hong Kong in regards to the Erwiana case. The domestic recruitment process, which is quite lacking in terms of protection, had an effect on the violence experienced by the two Indonesian female migrant workers in Malaysia and had no effect on the Indonesian female migrant worker in Hong Kong. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that the role of Indonesian government actors in protecting women migrant workers is part of the protectionist regime but is partially executed because they had not been afforded protection since their departure. The novelty of this research is that the role maintained by civil society has led to the shift of the broker regime toward the protectionist. This research discovered a new finding that given the role of civil society and the synergy between government actors and civil society, the role of the Indonesian government is identified to be in the protectionist regime even though it is partial and conditional, namely given the role and participation that civil society holds.

Mediating Effects of Coping Strategies on the Relationship Between Mental Health and Quality of Life Among Indonesian Female Migrant Workers in Taiwan.

Mental health is a major concern among migrant workers worldwide. More than 200,846 female migrant workers in Taiwan are from Indonesia. The study's purpose was to investigate mediating effects of coping strategies on the relationship between mental health problems and the quality of life (QoL). This cross-sectional study was conducted in Taiwan. In total, 500 Indonesian female migrant workers completed four questionnaires. A mediation test was conducted to estimate direct and indirect effects. Coping strategies, namely substance use, behavioral disengagement, denial, and religious dedication, partially mediated the relationship between mental health problems (depression, anxiety, and stress) and QoL among Indonesian female migrant workers in Taiwan. Health promotion programs should be developed for Indonesian female migrant workers in Taiwan to help them detect and overcome their mental health problems. Interventions that facilitate effective coping strategies should be administered to improve their QoL.

Mobile people in global migration and the working of law: a reflection on the role of legal pluralism

ABSTRACT This paper for the anniversary issue of the Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law attempts to explain how legal pluralism as a sensitizing concept plays a role as an auxiliary in looking at phenomena where there is a co-existence between various legal systems. The legal pluralism approach carries methodological consequences that require a researcher to use microscopic lenses to observe the relations between law and relevant actors in cross-border spaces. It is also important to examine the interrelations between the concept of personhood with law in a context of legal pluralism. Without a legal pluralism approach linked with a relational approach that looks at the connections between law and relevant actors, research would not be able to generate a significant narrative about how law works. In this paper, the conceptual and methodological reflections on legal pluralism are linked to a research on the diversity of legal references that regulate the issue of Indonesian female migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with all its implications for actual access to justice for women.

Gender Discourses in Positioning Indonesian Female Migrant Workers

Indonesian female migrant workers are a group that has over time experienced physical, psychological, and verbal violence in their jobs in foreign countries. The story presented of the struggles of this subordinated group of women remains one-sided and incomplete. The untold part of the story are the experiences they have encountered domestically from within their own country, Indonesia. This article argues that the subordinated position of Indonesian female migrant workers is initially created and strongly reinforced through the discrimination they face within specific social settings in the Indonesian context. One such social setting is at Indonesian international airports. Indonesian international airports are where the female migrant workers are positioned as “others”; rules put in place and their enforcement by airport officials and other passengers show the exclusion of female migrant workers from Indonesian society. Such positioning is an act of discrimination, exploitation, and exercise of power. This study examines what discourses are used in positioning these Indonesian female migrant workers in Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Jakarta. The authors argue, using research data and gender theories, that the positioning of Indonesian female migrant workers is a discursive act. It is committed by various individuals, particularly those (in the power system) that have the position of “we” and “us”, to preserve the social classes, which have become normalized throughout Indonesian history. The research found that the discrimination against female migrant workers is strongly connected to their social class. Although they have financial capital, their position is considered lower than other people in the airport, which creates multiple forms of discrimination, from material to symbolic discrimination and stereotypes.

Kisah Perempuan Pekerja Migran Indonesia di Hong Kong: Perjuangan untuk Keluarga dan Pendidikan Anak

This study aims to describe struggle of Nurdiana and Tira, two Indonesian female migrant workers who work in domestic sector in Hong Kong. They are part of thousands of Indonesian migrant workers in this country. Data from BNP2TKI shows that in 2019 only, there were 70,840 migrant workers placed in Hong Kong. Most of them are women. These women work in informal sectors, particularly domestic works. Using life story method, this research is able to find out that the main reason for both Nurdiana and Tira to work in Hong Kong is to fulfill their family needs and support education of their children. Their children are studying in Pesantren. Life story gives chances to both informants to talk more about their work, their relation with employers, family, friends, and challenges they face, including that of COVID-19. Their stories provide an understanding of the real situation faced by these two family heroes.

The Meaning of Housework (Domestic Sector) for the Left-Behind Husbands of Indonesian Female Migrant Workers in Arjowilangun Village, Kalipare District, Malang Regency

The narrowing domestic opportunities for employment n has led many Indonesian people of working age become migrant workers overseas. The left-behind husbands of female migrant workers must play a double role as both head and homemaker in the family. This research considers the underlying social context and the resultant meaning of housework for husbands. The analysis design was based on the phenomenological perspective introduced by Alfred Schutz. The results showed that the female population in the observed village decided to follow the flux of Indonesian workers migrating abroad, mostly to Hong Kong and Taiwan. Relying on the pay cut scheme for their departure to the destination countries, they were able to earn up to IDR 7 million per month (nearly USD 500). The husbands left-behind, with an age range of 31 to 57 years, accepted the responsibility of doing housework or working in the domestic sector because of economic constraint (‘because motive’) and the high income earned by their wives (‘in-order-to motive’). They interpreted housework as either (1) invisible underemployment or (2) main job.
 Keywords: Meaning, Husband, Indonesian Female Migrant Workers, Household

PURSUING HIGHER EDUCATION CAREERS AND THE PROCESS OF MIGRATION AMONG INDONESIAN FEMALE MIGRANT WORKERS IN TAIWAN

Remittance, labor migration and the significance of the female role in the process of labor migration have recently become entrenched in many developing countries, such as Indonesia. The influential role these female migrant workers play in supporting their own families and in their self-fulfillment is of significance and worthy of being fully expounded and discussed. As breadwinners, these female migrant workers strive to pursue higher education by working their way through college. Qualitative in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to obtain five Indonesian female migrant workers' opinion and experiences about their experience of being a worker and a student in Taiwan. The data in this study were analyzed and evaluated with thematic analysis. This study describes the factors which cause the Indonesian female workers to become migrant workers in Taiwan. This includes getting high-paid jobs, shouldering the responsibility for supporting their own families, and pursuing self-fulfillment overseas. Besides, this study has investigated the difficulties and challenges that female Indonesian migrant workers had encountered while working and studying at the same time. On the whole, as caregivers, most of them often fail to have a flexible schedule to study due to the temporary jobs assigned by their employers. Also, some employers are unwilling to allow them to pursue higher education for feat that they would not concentrate on their own work. Above all, it is these female migrant workers that can define what their lives truly mean as migrant workers on their own, and that can align their talents and ambitions with their pursuits of higher education. This study provides a new exploration of how the female migrant workers’ gained a sense of self-fulfillment by pursuing higher education with working and studying at the same time. Facing a variety of challenges and hindrances, their persistence and perseverance can be further examined for those who are interested in studying this field deeper.
 
 Keywords: Female migrant workers, higher education, Indonesian migrant workers, labor migration, remittance
 
 Cite as: Bali, S., Liu, M. C., & Lin, H. H. (2019). Pursuing higher education careers and the process of migration among Indonesian female migrant workers in Taiwan. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 4(2), 302-317. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol4iss2pp302-317

Standardized Certification for Indonesian Female Migrant Workers: Towards Qualified Domestic Workers

This research paper is entitled Standardized Certification for Indonesian Female Migrant Workers: Towards Qualified Domestic Workers. The problem of the research was derived from the fact that Indonesia is the highest sender of female migrant workers. Based on the data taken from BNP2TKI, female migrant workers from Indonesia mostly work in domestic sector as housemaids. Unfortunately, most of them are still considered unskilled. There is a quite significant difference between Philippines and Indonesia’s government policy in positioning migrant workers. The government of Philippines is very serious about preparing policy to position migrant workers by providing diplomatic protection, since they realize that the income from remittance can reach 20 %, and preparing public education policy concerning migration in the form of massive pre-departure orientation in migrant worker areas.
 In order for Indonesian migrant workers to compete with other workers, government is required to prepare the migrant workers to fulfill requirements and standards and prepare the agenda for strengthening legal recognition of their work as housemaids. Nusron Wahid, BNP2TKI chairperson, stated that Indonesian migrant workers need to improve their skills. This is necessarily required to change the face of Indonesian migrant workers. Skill improvement program for migrant workers is provided by Labor Training Centers that can be found in every province in Indonesia. Labor Training Center offers some programs and activities both
 for migrant workers and public, so they can improve their knowledge, skill and character
 This research focused on how migrant workers empower themselves in terms of knowledge, skill, and character building through certified programs given by Labor Training Center. The research problems can be identified as follows: (1) to what extent can the certified programs given by Labor Training Center upgrade migrant worker’s knowledge, (2) to what extent can the certified programs given by Labor Training Center increase migrant worker’s skill, and (3) to what extent can the certified programs given by Labor Training Center improve migran workers’ character. The objectives of the research are: (1) to find out the map of the knowledge development of migrant workers taking the certified programs in Labor Training Center; (2) to know the improvement of migrant workers’ skill s, and (3) to find out the improvement of migrant workers’ character s .
 The research used descriptive qualitative method. The data were gathered from previous research, in form of journals, documents and participant observation. From the data gathered, it was found out that the initiation programs organized by Labor Training Center was the dissemination of information about working abroad. This was aimed to give information to those who wanted to work outside Indonesia legally, securely, and appropriately, and to give information on opportunities to find some jobs overseas along with the advantages and disadvantages. This is one way to prepare Indonesian migrant workers to be ready to work outsideIndonesia. This means that migrant workers are given some knowledge to be well-prepared workers.
 In order to increase the skill of migrant workers, Labor Training Center offered some skill upgrading programs supported by practices. The skills are divided into: personal skill, social skill, and technology skill such as housework activities, social interaction, communication media, and many more. The aim was to improve the skill of migrant workers. As for character development, Labor Training Center offered some trainings, such as motivation, ethics, self-defense, work ethos, and personality. These are very needed to ensure migrant workers’ mental preparedness.
 The findings of the research showed that the knowledge of the migrant workers increased after they took part in the programs conducted by Labor Training Center. They knew that they needed to have legal contract when they worked overseas so that they could work safely, securely and appropriately. They would not be kicked out form a certain country any more. In terms of skill, the migrant worker could increase their social and technology skill to equip them to work overseas, whereas in terms of character building, the migrant workers could have positive mind and strong confidence to work overseas.

Pekerja Imigran Perempuan dalam Perspektif Islam

Islamic law gives a high appreciation for the human equality. It happens because all humans come from one source, Allah S.W.T. Respecting of human rights is regulated in fiqih, holy Qur’an, and hadist. From the Islamic law perspective, the differentiate of human level is on their devotion. Working as a migrant worker is allowed in Islamic Law. State gives regulation for the Indonesian migrant in a constitution No 18, 2017 year. The constitution is provide to give all society to have work both of domestic and overseas with a certain period, of course they get salary. Working is a citizen’s right. The purpose of migrant is to get bigger result. Other factor which triggers the Indonesian citizen of Indonesia to change the fate is the difficulty of getting work. There are many kinds of work in this country. Various job opportunities that exist in this country but most of them have been occupied by Indonesian society. Consequently, it is being minimum opportunity for the next generation. Indonesian mindset of working abroad to be a migrant worker is a necessity. The real fact is when women work, and then they have to perform two roles, as a wife or a mother as well as a worker. This article will discuss about the female position as a migrant viewed from the religion point of view, especially in term of Islamic law related to Indonesian female migrant workers.

Retno Marsudi: “All-out diplomacy to protect Indonesian female migrant workers”.

Retno Marsudi: “All-out diplomacy to protect Indonesian female migrant workers”.

Gendered Morality and Development Narratives: The Case of Female Labor Migration from Indonesia

This article discusses two dominant and contradictory representations of Indonesian female migrant workers: as national “heroes” who contribute to Indonesia’s economic development, or as exploited “victims” of labor abuse. By analyzing public statements by Indonesian state actors, news reports, and migrant activists’ websites, I argue that representations of migrants as victims do not undermine representations of migrants as heroes of development. Instead, in Indonesian public discourses about migrant women, various institutions and actors often evoke similar gendered moral assumptions of what makes a “good” or “bad” Indonesian woman and worker. These assumptions serve narratives that imply which migrant workers are heroes who deserve media attention; which migrants are unfairly abused and deserve state protection; and which migrants partly deserve their tragic fates. I term these assumptions gendered moral hierarchies, which distinguish between “tolerable” and “illegitimate” violence. Gendered moral hierarchies in representations of migrants downplay the responsibility of states and institutions for migrant safety, labor protection, and aspects of social welfare, by emphasizing individual moral responsibility and blame. More attention to gendered moral assumptions behind migrants’ narratives of development and victimhood can illuminate how they experience the risks and promises of transnational labor migration in gendered and culturally specific ways.

English

This paper describes how the Indonesian women, despite the fact that some migrant workers are economically and politically poorly protected by the state, kept the desire to try their luck as migrant workers abroad. In almost all economic sectors, both formal and non-formal, many of the Indonesian Female Migrant Workers (FMW/TKW) living and working abroad did not receive their full rights as workers and sometimes even lost their basic rights such as that to minimum wage, not having their wages, withheld or not paid at all as well as refusal to have their passports returned. Many of the Indonesian TKWs were even physically and sexually abused by their employers while many female workers were victimized into becoming forced prostitutes by their sponsors. In addition, some of the TKW had to face serious problems of protection; many as victims of corrupt practices such as the imposition of illegal levy by the Indonesian and the receiving country police and immigration staffs; demands for payments, extortion of money and confiscation of valuables. Noting that, despite all the sufferings, the numbers of migrant workers are constantly increasing, this paper analyzes the causal mechanism of female migration from the socioeconomic and political context in Indonesia.

Bringing Agency Back In: Indonesian Migrant Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia

This article highlights how, in pursuing their goals, Indonesian female migrant workers exercised their agency by coping with the challenges of life and work in Saudi Arabia. Due to the lack of legal protection of their rights in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, many such workers suffer various forms of exploitation and maltreatment by actors who took advantage of them. This study examines how three Indonesian domestic workers in Saudi Arabia adapted to an alien environment, overcame problems in the workplace, and negotiated with their employers. This study reveals that these women were not passive victims of the existing social system; they were capable of exercising their agency.

STRATEGI PEMBERDAYAAN BURUH MIGRAN PEREMPUAN INDONESIA DI HONGKONG

Social remittances (ideas, system practice, and social capital flow from the receiving country to the home country) of Indonesian female migrant workers (BMP) in Hong Kong appeared better and more complete than other BMP in other countries like Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, or Singapore. Based on that research, we are encouraged to do extensive research in order to identify factors that push BMP’s social remittances development in Hong Kong, to identify kinds of social remmitances they receive and to understand on how far their social remittances become a medium to empower them and their society. This study is done in qualitative method that uses an in-depth interview technique and FGD. Subjects of study are BMP, the government (Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration and BNP2TKI), NGOs, migrant workers’ organization and researchers of BMP. The study done in Cianjur (West Java), Wonosobo and Banyumas (Central Java) and Hong Kong indicates that during their migration process, female migrant workers not only have economical remittance that can be used for productive activities, but also social remittances. The social remittances are in the form practical knowledge such as language skill and nursery; knowledge on health, financial management; ethical work; the mindset changing and networking. The study indicate that female migrant workers are extraordinary women more than just an ex-helper. Their migration has put them into a position as an agent of development in society.Key words: Indonesians female migrant workers, social remmitances, empowerment