DPD RI Committee III : Protection for Migrant Workers Must Start at the Regional Level

06 July 2026 oleh admin

dpd.go.id JAKARTA – Committee III of the House of Regional Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (DPD RI) emphasized that the protection of Indonesian migrant workers must not only begin once they are already abroad. The state must ensure that protection is present from the very beginning, starting from the recruitment process, education and training, all the way to placement, so that migrant workers do not fall victim to non-procedural placement practices, human trafficking crimes, or various forms of exploitation.

Vice Chairperson of Committee III of the DPD RI, Erni Daryanti, stated that various monitoring results conducted by the DPD RI show there are still many fundamental issues rooted in weak governance regarding migrant worker placement at the local level. Lengthy placement processes, a lack of understanding of regulations, and the low quality of training serve as loopholes exploited by irresponsible parties.

"The DPD RI, as a state institution representing the interests of the public and the regions in accordance with the mandate of Article 22D of the 1945 Constitution, continuously conducts monitoring regarding the Law on the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers every year," said Erni Daryanti while leading a working meeting between Committee III of the DPD RI and the Ministry of Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers at the DPD RI Building in Jakarta, Monday (July 6, 2026).

According to the Senator from Central Kalimantan, various monitoring activities by Committee III of the DPD RI whether through meetings with ministries and migrant worker organizations or working visits to destination countries for migrant workers indicate that many migrant workers still face problems due to weak protection during the pre-placement phase. Therefore, Committee III of the DPD RI is urging the government to implement strategic steps capable of closing these loopholes entirely.

"Committee III of the DPD RI needs to know the strategic and political measures that will be or have been formulated by the Government in responding to findings related to the issues of Indonesian Migrant Workers," she explained.

Responding to this, the Minister of Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers, Mukhtarudin, stated that the government received directives from President Prabowo Subianto to strengthen the protection of migrant workers comprehensively, spanning before departure, during employment, and after returning to Indonesia. Strengthening the quality of human resources through vocational education and skills upgrading is also an important part of this effort.

"President Prabowo's directive to the Ministry of P2MI is to improve the quality of protection for migrant workers, both before, during, and during placement or after working," Mukhtarudin said.

According to Mukhtarudin, strengthening protection will not run optimally without the involvement of local governments. For this reason, the Ministry of P2MI is currently pushing for the synchronization of Law Number 18 of 2017 with various regional regulations, ensuring that the protection of migrant workers becomes a shared responsibility down to the regional level.

Attention toward strengthening protection from the home regions was also voiced by DPD RI Member from North Maluku, Hasby Yusuf. He proposed an education quota for prospective migrant workers in each province so that regional governments can play a greater role in preparing competent and protected migrant workers. "We propose that there should be a quota for the regions regarding the education of migrant workers locally," he said. Echoing this sentiment, DPD RI Member from East Nusa Tenggara, Maria Stevi Harman, assessed that the poor are still the most vulnerable group to falling victim to illegal recruitment practices because they lack access to training and financing. According to her, the government needs to crack down harder on rogue agencies while establishing task forces in regions that are the largest contributors of migrant workers.

"I want to push for a crackdown on rogue agencies," she said.