KUALA LUMPUR - According to ANTARA reporting, Indonesia’s Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian and Migrant Worker Protection Minister (P2MI) Mukhtarudin has called a meeting for a national plan to a better protect and develop the potential of foreign workers in Jakarta, last Wednesday.  

The meeting discussed key problems and plans to improve migrant worker protection from preparation before leaving the country to helping them reintegrate when they return home.

“The potential of our migrant workers is very significant,” Karnavian said during a meeting.

He says, having a clear grand design would make it easier to coordinate activities and define the roles of all parties involved in every stage, preparation, departure, placement, and post-employment.

He also added it is important to strengthen institutions, improve management, and build stronger regulations and the governments’ vocational training centers (BLK) could be used as examples to raise worker readiness.

“Improving the quality of migrant workers is essential, not only to ensure their welfare but also to boost Indonesia’s global labor competitiveness.

“Many Indonesian migrant workers still work in domestic service sectors, so it is urgent to expand training so they can qualify for better paying jobs abroad,” he said. 

Karnavian also stressed the need for a connected protection system that includes regional governments, access to foreign job markets, and education programs that give workers the right skills.

Meanwhile, Mukhtarudin agreed and said there are still problems like different training standards in each region, local rules that clash with national ones, and a lack of worker skills, especially in integrity and discipline.

He mentioned that licensing for migrant placement companies still faces issues, and there must be clearer rules and stricter enforcement.

He also said his ministry is collecting feedback from various groups to complete a national grand design for migrant worker protection and ensure all services are consistent in quality.

Each year, millions of Indonesians work abroad and send back billions in remittances, but many continue to face issues such as inadequate training, exploitation, and limited legal protection.