Govt prepares action plan related to ASEAN consensus

The Indonesian Manpower Ministry will soon prepare an action plan to implement the ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, which was signed at the 31st ASEAN Summit in the Philippines on November 14.

"Each member state will make a progress report on the implementation of the action plan and share an example of good practice in protecting migrant workers based on the consensus," Maruli A Hasoloan, Director General of Workers Placement and Job Opportunities Expansion at the Manpower Ministry, said here, Friday.

The ASEAN Committee of Migrant Workers (ACMW) will later study and discuss the action plan of each member state, he stated.

Maruli remarked that the Indonesian government had prepared a framework for action plan long time ago to ensure that the consensus could be implemented properly.

At their 31st summit held in Manila on Nov 14, 2017, the ASEAN leaders signed the ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers. The consensus is considered important to improve the protection of migrant workers and their families in the Southeast Asian region.

All the 10 ASEAN leaders signed the consensus related to the rights of migrant workers and the obligations of sending countries, as well as the receiving countries.

The rights of migrant workers include visitation rights for family members and right to keep personal documents, such as passports and work permits.

The migrant workers also have the right to receive legal equality when they are detained prior to their court trial.

They also have the freedom to move to other places in the country where they are employed and have access to manpower information from both the sending and receiving countries.

In addition to these, they also have the right to access information about jobs and condition of jobs in receiving countries and receive remuneration, allowances and a fair income

Source: ANTARA