Indonesian migrant workers (, PMI, formerly known as Tenaga Kerja Indonesia, TKI) are Indonesian citizens who work in countries outside of Indonesia.
Indonesia's population is the world's fourth-largest, and due to a shortage of domestic jobs, many Indonesians seek employment overseas. These migrant workers are mostly low-skilled and work in the domestic sector. They are prone to exploitation, extortion, physical and sexual abuses and human trafficking. Several cases of abuse have been reploted, some of which been picked up by international media.
It is estimated that around 4.5 million Indonesians work abroad. Roughly 70 percent are women, most of whom are employed in domestic sector (as maid or domestic helpers) or in the manufacturing sector. Migrant Indonesian men mostly work on plantations, in the construction or transportation industries or in the service sector. Most Indonesian migrants are in their prime work years, between 18 and 35 years old. However, cases of underage workers attaining employment with the aid of falsified documents have been reported.
Since 1969, the government of Indonesia has administered the recruitment of migrant labor. The public program has attracted criticism, with opponents claiming it unduly elevates the rights of private recruitment agents over those of the migrant workers they recruit.
Statistics Currently Malaysia employs the largest numbers of Indonesian migrant workers, followed by Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. These are official numbers; the actual numbers might be far larger contributed by unrecorded illegal entry of Indonesian workers into foreign countries.
Employer countries Source:BNP2TKI Country 2011 2012 2013 2014* 134,120 134,023 150,236 107,085 78,865 81,071 83,544 68,874 137,835 40,655 45,394 38,104 50,301 45,478 41,769 30,208 47,786 41,556 34,655 25,601 39,917 35,571 44,505 15,276 7,306 8,836 10,719 15,035 11,392 13,593 15,374 9,623 10,804 13,146 11,269 9,298 13,749 15,353 15,021 7,839 16,616 20,380 16,237 6,872 4,379 6,328 5,384 4,535 2,508 3,293 3,042 2,093 2,723 2,518 2,534 1,530 1,016 1,209 1,518 1,155 3,408 3,691 3,746 1,075 1,072 1,967 2,055 812 556 970 848 809 805 1,484 1,746 1,417 754 478 982 1,017 734 592 798 1,176 664 1,113 1,035 1,041 597 299 697 1,168 518 526 945 1,012 441 1,272 1,388 905 460 481 to 31 October
Job sector Employment type 2011 2012 2013 2014*Domestic Worker 267,231 164,981 168,318 113,952Plantation Worker 39,622 36,478 47,598 40,146Operator 40,847 40,347 46,799 32,819Care Taker 48,492 51,474 45,751 40,581Construction Worker 5,625 11,141 15,580 6,779General Worker 8,364 8,488 13,834 7,338Deck Hand 4,509 12,283 11,249 8,904Worker (Man) 33,398 17,030 9,249 2,041Able Body Seaman 4,777 7,796 8,719 4,017Housekeepers 14,643 16,006 8,301 4,759Operator Production 1 1,913 5,856 6,244Labour 17,098 19,493 5,854 4,270Fisherman 4,371 5,213 5,559 3,988Driver 0 974 4,746 6,945Production Operator 3,745 5,163 4,664 naGardener 2,018 2,580 3,831 2,658Worker 1,195 2,131 3,793 6,300Agricultural Labour 6,814 3,201 3,604 naWaiter 4,733 4,144 3,153 1,635Engineer 2,339 2,939 3,115 na to 31 October
In popular culture Nadila, a character in Kakushigoto: My Dad's Secret Ambition, is an Indonesian migrant worker who works as a housekeeper in Japan.
See also Indonesian diaspora Human trafficking in Indonesia Erwiana Sulistyaningsih Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) – Filipino version of migrant worker
Notes
External links Migrant Care NGO focused on migrant worker issues