The Politics of Bondage in the Recruitment, Training and Placement of Indonesian Migrant Domestic Workers

Killias, Olivia

doi:10.3790/soc.59.2.145

Cited by 20 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Sometimes people are outright cheated, exploited, imprisoned without being paid or -after paying recruitment fees -are lured into non-existent jobs by outsourcing companies in collusion with government officials (Ahsan et al 2014). In the Malaysian electronics industry, Indonesian women are often indebted and it is only in Malaysia that they discover that after the deductions the salary they receive is less than the promised (Killias 2009;Das 2015). Moreover, they can be replaced to other factories without having a say in the shift (Bormann, Krishnan, and Neuner 2010).…”

Section: Indifference To Migration and Enticementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migration decision-making and migration industry in the Indonesia–Malaysia corridor

Spaan¹,

Naerssen

2017

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies

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This paper explores the involvement of migration industry (MI) in the migration system of Indonesia and Malaysia. The two countries share an extensive border and have much in common in culture and history but they are very different in geographical size, population and economic development, the latter being a main cause for labour migration from Indonesia to Malaysia. The changing context of government policies generates new niches for migration services taken up by formal and informal intermediaries, thereby confronting migrants with a varied migration-decision field and thresholds during their migration process. Much of the migration is legal, but a large part of it also takes place outside the control of the national governments. While taking mental processes in migration decision-making as starting point, we analyse how the MI, by way of fostering, facilitating and controlling geographic mobility and localised employment, connects to the production and negotiating of three migration decision thresholds faced by migrants.

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Section: Indifference To Migration and Enticementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migration decision-making and migration industry in the Indonesia–Malaysia corridor

Spaan¹,

Naerssen

2017

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies

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“…Among the government measures implemented since the late 1990s are the creation of a separate migrant worker airport terminal in 1999 (see Silvey, 2007), the formation of several special coordination teams within the Department of Manpower, and the implementation of the National Law on the Placement and the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers Overseas in 2004. With the implementation of this law, the Indonesian government has endorsed the long-standing practices of private recruitment firms by making it compulsory for all prospective migrant workers to register with such an agency (see Killias, 2009b). In fact, all relevant documents for migration, such as special migrant worker passports or the required health certificates, can only be processed through licensed recruitment firms; furthermore, workers need to repeat this whole bureaucratic process for each employment term.…”

Section: Towards a Regularisation Of Migration From Indonesiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Upon employment abroad, the domestic workers' debt is transferred from the Indonesian agency to the Malaysian employers, who, in turn, deduct repayment from the workers' wages for several months. In 2008, this 'legal' wage deduction amounted to six months, representing a quarter of the domestic workers' earnings for the usual two-year contract (see Rudnyckyj, 2004;Killias, 2009b). 4 From the very beginning of the migration process, the repayment of this debt is conditioned by restrictions in the domestic workers' freedom of movement.…”

Section: Towards a Regularisation Of Migration From Indonesiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…I also found myself talking to domestic workers from about 15 metres distance because they were locked in their employer's house and could only speak through a small window while I was standing on the other side of the high fence surrounding the house. Two women from the same hamlet of that village were working practically next door to each other in Kuala Lumpur but neither of them had been aware of this for an entire two years (see Killias, 2009a).…”

Section: Malaysia and The Immobilisation Of Mobile 'Maids'mentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Illegal’ Migration as Resistance: Legality, Morality and Coercion in Indonesian Domestic Worker Migration to Malaysia

Killias¹

2010

Asian J Soc Sci

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This article explores dominant discourses on ‘illegal’ migrants in the context of contemporary Indonesian labour migration to Malaysia. By focusing on the particular case of migrant domestic workers, it discusses recent political moves undertaken by both nation-states to regularise migratory movements. These state-induced efforts at regularising transnational migration have been promoted as combating trafficking and ‘illegal’ migration, but they have led to the legitimisation of a migration scheme that has much in common with colonial indentured labour. Hence, the paper argues that this ‘legal,’ state-sanctioned migration scheme gradually leads domestic workers into ‘legal’ — but bonded — labour arrangements and that the labour contract, as such, needs to be analysed as an instrument of subordination. Through the counter-narrative of Arum, an Indonesian domestic worker performing her work ‘illegally’ in Malaysia, the paper then goes on to argue that to migrate through ‘illegal’ migration channels can be interpreted as an act of voluntarily circumventing the ‘legal,’ state-sanctioned migration scheme. Thus, ‘illegal’ migration can be equated with deliberately resisting a coercive system.

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“…Furthermore, scholars tend to examine what has happened to IMDWs abroad. IMDW activism, especially in the production of messages through conventional media and the Internet, has been only briefly discussed (Briones 2009, Killias 2009. IMDW activism is possible in Hong Kong because the country permits protests (within certain limits).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Print media as a migrant advocacy tool: A case of Indonesian language print media in Hong Kong

Wahyudi

Allmark

2018

MKP

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Hong Kong is listed as one of the most popular countries for Indonesian migrant workers. In 2012, more than 160,000 Indonesian migrant domestic workers (IMDWs) live in Hong Kong, and more than 90% of them are women. Hong Kong is the premium destination for IMDWs because of its moderately higher salaries, good laws and regulations, and its ambience of independence. The IMDWs can also access multiple media platforms, ranging from print media to the Internet. This writing specifically discuss about Indonesian newspaper published in Hong Kong and its relation with migrant activism. The research found that there are four existing Indonesian language newspapers in Hong Kong: Suara, Apa Kabar Plus, Koran Indonesia (KINDO), and Berita Indonesia. Conflicts between newspaper journalists and migrant organizations have affected the newspapers' credibility.The methodology used is ethnography. Fieldwork conducted in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) in 2013, 2014 and 2018. Participant observations, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions were conducted in this research. Despite pros and cons regarding the existence of Indonesian print media in Hong Kong, they have undeniably contributed to the capacity development of IMDWs in Hong Kong. Print media have published a variety of news useful for IMDWs, fulfilling their need not only for information, but also for entertainment. Different positions taken by the newspapers provide choices for IMDWs in accessing relevant information for their needs. The activities performed by journalists have also enriched the IMDWs' experience and access to the knowledge that they need outside of their isolated workplaces. The Indonesian print media provides access for IMDWs to news about their surroundings. The newspapers and magazines function not only as a bridge of information to what is happening in Hong Kong, but they also continually inform the IMDW community. This provides genuine evidence of how a diasporic community can communicate through various channels and utilise those channels to strengthen bonds among the migrants. 241 242Wahyudi & Allmark: "Print media as a migrant advocacy tool: A case of Indonesian language print media in Hong Kong" mereka yang terisolasi. Media cetak Indonesia menyediakan akses untuk IMDW ke berita tentang lingkungan mereka. Koran dan majalah berfungsi tidak hanya sebagai jembatan informasi untuk apa yang terjadi di Hong Kong, tetapi mereka juga terus menginformasikan komunitas IMDW. Ini memberikan bukti nyata bagaimana komunitas diaspora dapat berkomunikasi melalui berbagai saluran dan memanfaatkan saluran tersebut untuk memperkuat ikatan di antara para migran.

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The Politics of Bondage in the Recruitment, Training and Placement of Indonesian Migrant Domestic Workers

Cited by 20 publications

References 2 publications

Migration decision-making and migration industry in the Indonesia–Malaysia corridor

Migration decision-making and migration industry in the Indonesia–Malaysia corridor

‘Illegal’ Migration as Resistance: Legality, Morality and Coercion in Indonesian Domestic Worker Migration to Malaysia

Print media as a migrant advocacy tool: A case of Indonesian language print media in Hong Kong

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