Dialectic: Candidates Speak on the Protection of Migrant Workers

In order to push for the agenda of protection of migrant workers among those contesting the 2019 general election, Migrant CARE held an event called ‘Dialectic: Candidate Speak Covering DKI Jakarta Election Area II’ with five legislative candidates on Wednesday, 27 March 2019.

“Socially, migrant workers are a great example of making an effort to escape from poverty and improve the life of one’s family,” said Nuraini Hilir, candidate for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). Unfortunately, there are still many parties and political elites who are ignorant of the issue of migrant workers. This can be seen, among others, from the legislation process for passing the Migrant Workers Protection Act which has taken seven years.

Meanwhile, for Tsamara Amany Alatas, a candidate from the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), the protection of migrant workers is not only a matter of legislation, but also of supervision and enforcement. In line with Christina Aryani, the Golkar Party candidate, Tsamara proposed a comprehensive database of migrant workers so that cases could be followed up immediately.

Closing the dialogue, Wahyu Susilo, Executive Director of Migrant CARE, hopes that the issue of protection of migrant workers is not sidelined in the elections and in the political processes. The next agenda is to encourage a special electoral region for voters living abroad, because millions of Indonesian migrant workers need representation.