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The Role of ILO in Providing Legal Protection for Indonesian Migrant Workers : The
Adelina Case
Ardi Novasela Putra,International Program for Law and Shariah, Faculty of law, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta,
Ardi.novasela.law18@mail.umy.ac.id
Abstract
This Scientific article will discuss the International Organization of Labor or often called the
ILO, ranging from the role of the ILO itself in making a Convention for the legal protection
of Indonesian migrant workers to the case of the death of Adelina Sau, an Indonesian worker,
who was violently tortured by an employer in Penang, Malaysia, issues raised such as the
Role of the ILO in the Legal Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers? And What is the
case of Adelina a migrant worker who died as a result of violence? The research method of
this Scientific article, using qualitative methods by describing analytically, the result of the
discussion is in the form of legal protection through Conventions between member States, by
seeking to carry out legal protection for migrant workers who leave the country, where the
workers were born, Adelina Sau, a Female Worker (TKW) who died as a result of violence
from her employer, added to the long barrage of cases of victims who died because they
became Indonesian Workers abroad, in the case of Adelina Sau, the big syndicate was that
trafficking was one of the supporting factors, the incident that killed Adelina Sau, was very
contrary to the ILO's principle of maintaining protection and law enforcement against cases
such as those experienced by Adelina Sau.
Keywords: ILO, Migrant Legal Protection, Adelina Sau
Introduction
The ILO is an International Labor Organization under the auspices of the United
Nations agency or often called the United Nations, the ILO seeks in the scope of encouraging
the creation of employment opportunities for one or a group of women and one or a group of
men in order to obtain productive and decent work in a free, safe, fair and dignified manner,
the main objective of the ILO is as a labor organization that can promote rights in the
workplace wherever it is, the ILO also encourages the creation of decent employment
opportunities for workers, improves social protections and strengthens dialogue in
overcoming problems in the world of labor, the ILO as a labor organization has collaborated
with approximately 181 member countries, ILO also ensures that there are standards for
employment that deserve to be respected by all parties both in practice and in basic labor
principles.
1
The basis for the establishment of the ILO as an international labor organization is
purely with the interrelationship of humanitarian problems that occur in the world of work
and are experienced by a condition of the labor workers themselves such as the existence of
an excessive exploitation of workers without them having to be employers to be able to pay
attention to the health and families of the workers, improvements in the condition of labor
workers, which every day and even year continue to increase as a result of the
industrialization of indifference and tension between workers and employers
2
, The State as
one of the parties that can treat the rights of workers, as it should be able to prosper the
workers and protect labor workers as a form of legal protection, and the enforcement of the
law is considered by the international community, consideration of workers as an important
party with attributed by the element of employers who have an industrial contribution, so that
labor workers must get social justice for them.
3
The role of the ILO, as an international organization, has sought to be able to carry
out legal protection for migrant workers departing from the country, where these workers
were born through several Conventions such as ILO Convention Number 19 of 1925
1
Muhammad.A, 2014, Regulating for corporate human rights abuses: The emergence of corporate reporting on
the ILO's human rights standards within the global garment manufacturing and retail industry, p.790
2
Lesley welker, 2007, The Non-Legal Role of International Human Rights Law in Addressing Immigration,
p.359
3
Leah f.vosko, 2002, Decent Work: The Shifting Role of the ILO and the Struggle for Global Social Justice,
p.32
concerning Equal Treatment for National and Foreign Workers and ILO Convention Number
105 of 1957 concerning the Elimination of Forced Labor, as a form of legal protection for
migrant workers, ILO or the International Labour Organization functions or has a role as a
Convention-drafting instrument for migrant workers by always being able to cooperate with
Indonesia in protecting migrant workers who are Indonesian nationals working abroad, the
ILO also indirectly has a role as a communicator by conducting campaigns or socialization
4
related to migrant workers, as well as facilitators for migrant workers who are violated or
not fulfilled their rights.
With the existence of ILO Convention Number 19 of 1925 concerning Equal
Treatment for National and Foreign Workers and ILO Convention Number 105 of 1957
concerning the Elimination of Forced Labor, it turns out that there are still cases of violence
that occur around the world, and are the concern or subject of study from the ILO itself,
including cases that at that time were discussed by the Indonesian people, where there is an
attempted murder of torture on Indonesian Migrant Workers or better known as Tenaga Kerja
Indonesia (TKI), at that time Adelina where a migrant worker eventually died in Malaysia,
as a result of her employer's malnutrition and abusive treatment which resulted in injuries
caused by the employer's violent actions in Malaysia, it was seen at that time that her weak
body, Adelina Sau eventually died in the hospital, a day after being rescued from abusive
treatment or torture at her employer's home in Malaysia, his employer was found to be old
4
Hartono , Indranila Kustarini S, 2021, Legal Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers: International Law,
National Regulations and Contemporary Problems, vol.10, p.29
and had been charged with murder, while, in Indonesia, at the time, two people had been
arrested on suspicion of human trafficking.
5
The incident that killed Adelina Sau, was very contrary to the ILO's principle of
maintaining protection and law enforcement against cases such as those experienced by
Adelina Sau, this is Stated in the Convention on Migration for Jobs or workers abroad, which
contains a number of provisions to assist migrants in carrying out their work outside the
country where they work, the Convention calls on member States to abide by the Convention
in order to implement protection and enforcement of the law against criminal acts or violence
experienced by migrant workers or workers, and the ILO organization can easily take steps
to counter propaganda that misleads Indonesian workers or migrants
6
.
The Convention on the Protection of Migrants, created by international organizations
through ILO Convention Number 105 of 1957 concerning the Elimination of Forced Labor,
asks its member States that have ratified to be able to position foreign workers who are legally
within their territory, with the best treatment such as considering fairness in applying various
laws and rules, with regard to the life of labor workers, by not disclosing discrimination such
as citizenship discrimination, racial discrimination, religious discrimination, and sex
discrimination, the Convention, too, most importantly aims to regulate the conditions in
which labor occurs and can provide special protection for categories of workers who are
particularly vulnerable to being violated by the law, while they are employed in other
5
Palmer.w, Missbach.A, 2009, Enforcing labour rights of irregular migrants in Indonesia, (5), p.908
6
Husni.L, 2018, Legal Protection For Woman Domestic Workers Based On The International Convention,
vol.21, (2), p.1-7
countries outside their own country, Convention does not distinguish between permanent
migrant workers or temporary migrant workers working outside their area of residence.
7
The theory used in this scientific is a theory related to the theory of international
organizations, the International Organization has been defined as a formal structure body that
is mutually sustainable and has different goals but remains in the interests of the people
whose rights are neglected or focused on other global problems
8
, whose formation is
preceded by an agreement between the State as its members of two or more sovereign States
and is recognized with the aim of reaching the mutual agreement of its member States, in this
case workers or laborers who must be protected by law, the definition of an International
Organization is the activity of a cooperation that crosses the boundaries of a country based
on clear international organizational structures and is expected to be able to carry out its
functions continuously in pursuing and striving to achieve a goal that is needed and mutually
agreed upon by various member States that have carried out agreements together in paying
attention to or protecting the rights of workers or laborers,
9
therefore, the writing of this
scientific article will concern research questions such as the Role of the ILO in the Legal
Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers And What is the case of Adelina a TKW who died
as a result of violence.
Method
7
Daniel Roger Maul, 2007, The International Labor Organization and the Struggle against Forced Labor from
1919 to the Present, Labor History, vol.48, (4), p.
8
Yordan Gunawan, 2021, Hukum Internasional: Sebuah Pendekatan Modern, Yogyakarta, LP3M UMY, p.
9
Varia, N, 2007, Globalization Comes Home: Protecting Migrant Domestic Workers' Rights, p.7
The research method of this Scientific article, using qualitative methods by describing
in an analytical and case analysis manner, with supporting literature data to conduct
qualitative data analysis, the legal approach that will be used includes the norms or rules of
international law in the form of ILO Conventions and laws and regulations that ratify the ILO
Conventions and have legal force, research writing scientific articles will try to describe and
analyze, conditions or events related to the problems proposed by the author in the
introductory section.
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
A. The Role of the ILO in the Legal Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers
The role of the ILO, through Convention Number 19 of 1925 concerning Equal
Treatment for National Workers and ILO Convention Number 105 of 1957 concerning the
Elimination of Forced Labor, ILO as an international organization has sought to be able to
carry out legal protection for migrant workers departing out of the country, where those
workers were born, the ILO or the International Labour Organization functions or has a role
as a Convention-drafting instrument for migrant workers by always being able to cooperate
with Indonesia in protecting migrant workers whose nationality is an Indonesian State who
works abroad, as is known to migrant workers, it is based on the 1949 International Labour
Organization Convention which deals with the work system and legal protection of migrant
workers, migrant workers or migrant workers are people or groups who migrate from one
place to another in their purpose of working, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs,
migrant workers in this context in Indonesia, are people who move from Indonesia abroad
(either legally or illegally), to work for a predetermined period of time or within an indefinite
period
10
or Indonesian migrants can be said to be Indonesian Workers, in their definition are
every Indonesian citizen who has met the requirements and has applied to work abroad in an
employment relationship with a certain period of time accompanied by a salary from his
employer
11
, member States are required to implement from the existence of an ILO
declaration on the existence of principles accompanied by fundamental rights in the
workplace and to enact a set of labor standards relating to Conventions that have been
mutually agreed upon by ILO, the application of these standards is also related to the basic
forms of Human Rights (HAM) regarding legal protection for these Migrant workers.
The Convention for Migration Workers contains a number of important matters or
some provisions designed to be able to or help Indonesian migrant workers to be able to work
abroad, this immigrant Convention orders or campaigns against countries that have ratified
the Convention on migrant workers, in order to be able to provide highly relevant information
to other ILO Member States, ILO International Organization, which is under the auspices of
the United Nations, is taking a step such as against the existence of misleading propaganda,
and the ILO could facilitate the travel and departure of migrants, ILO Convention No. 19 of
1925 on Equal Treatment for National Workers, also requests that ILO member States that
have consciously ratified the Convention by the ILO, in order to position Indonesian migrant
workers who are within the territory of other countries, can be treated the same treatment as
residents in the country itself, the application of various laws to migrant workers must be the
10
ILO Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers: Result and Methodology Second Edition,
International Labour Office, Geneva: ILO, 2018, p,9.
11
Martaleta M, 2014, The Challanges of International Labour Organization (ILO) in Protecting Indonesian
Domestic Migrant Workers in Malaysia, p. 32
same and the rules relating to their working life must also be in protect, without
discrimination, whether based on the citizenship of migrant workers, race, or religion of
Indonesian migrant workers
12
The ILO Convention for Indonesian Migrant Workers aims in this regard, firstly to
regulate how labor conditions are currently occurring and secondly, to provide for special
protections in terms of the category of vulnerable workers for them to be employed in
countries within the country of the Indonesian migrant workers themselves, the Convention
on migrant workers must not discriminate between permanent Indonesian migrants or
temporary migrants, although these provisions in the Convention are only bound to
Indonesian migrant workers,
13
From the existence of Conventions and mutual agreements on
the protection of migrant workers, Indonesia as one of the parties that ratified, participated
in implementing the protection of Indonesian migrants in the laws and regulations.
The steps taken by the Indonesian government to protect Indonesian workers
migrants including women in it, among others, make a regulation that can regulate
specifically related to manpower, regulated in Law Number 13 of 2003 concerning
Manpower, more specifically, the regulation of migrant workers is regulated in Law Number
18 of 2017 concerning the Protection of Migrant Workers which has been ratified through
international regulations of the UN Convention, in Article 29 paragraph 1 of Law Number
18 of 2017 concerning the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers, it Stated that Against
the existence of protection efforts for Indonesian migrant workers, the Central Government
12
Theddy, Ningrum Natasya S, Agusmidah, Rosmalinda, 2021, Legal Protection of International Labour
Organization (ILO) and Indonesia toward Indonesia Illegal Migrant Workers, Vol.64, p.161
13
Stuart Rosewarne, 2013, The ILO’s Domestic Worke: Challenging the Gendered Disadvantage of Asia’s
Foreign Domestic Workers, vol.4, p.15
can organize or provide Social Security for Indonesian Migrant Workers, with this social
protection as well as these provisions, Indonesian Migrant Workers can use the services or
treatment of BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, law Number 18 of 2017 concerning the Protection of
Indonesian Migrant Workers, further mandates a greater role for the central and local
governments in terms of protecting Indonesian Migrant Workers, protection for Indonesian
migrant workers is carried out during or before departure, retirement and placement period.
14
B. The Case of Adelina an Indonesian Female laborer who Died as a Result of being
Tortured
Adelina Sau, a Female Worker who died as a result of violence from her employer,
added to the long barrage of cases of victims who died because they became Indonesian
Workers abroad, in the case of Adelina Sau, the big syndicate was that trafficking was one
of the supporting factors. At first, Adelina Sau was known by the name of Adelina Lisao,
there are indications of Adelina's alleged documents having been forged, by someone who
brought her from home abroad, at that time, Adelina was rescued from her employer's house
in 2018, but Adelina's life could not be saved, which in the end Adlina died, a day after being
rescued from her employer and was in Bukit Hospital, Malaysia, Adelina Sau, has been
declared dead by the hospital, and from the results of the investigation allegedly for acts of
violence by his employer, with the threat of the death penalty to his employer.
Looking further at the issue of trafficking in persons, which led to violence, is very
contrary to ILO Convention No. 105 of 1957 on the Elimination of Forced Labor, therefore,
the police have evacuated Adelina, who was born on April 15, 1989, by spending her time
14
Fadhilah.S, Problematic of Legal Protection Against Women after Ratification the Job Creation Act under
the ILO Conventions, vol.3, (1), p.22
helping her parents in the fields. Looking at the existing data, East Nusa Tenggara, is one of
the poorest provinces, more precisely the third poorest in Indonesia after Papua and West
Papua, a spokesperson for Badan Nasional Penempatan dan Perlindungan Tenaga Kerja
Indonesia (BNP2TKI), explained that Adelina's death was one of the indications of human
trafficking in Malaysia, the case of Adelina's death, according to the Migrant Care Agency,
is only one of the thousands of other cases that have been successfully exposed, Migrant Care
recorded trafficking crimes, from 2012 to February 2018, there were 1,288 Indonesian
migrant workers who died abroad. As many as 36% of cases have occurred in Malaysia.
15
In general, the role of the ILO through the Convention of immigrant workers can be
represented by the State of Indonesia, through its government to handle the case of Adelina's
death, the Indonesian government, in terms of protecting Indonesian Workers Adelina or
other groups in Malaysia, is based on a mutual State agreement MOU on the protection of
domestic workers, but there are still obstacles that have not resolved in the law enforcement
sector of Indonesian immigrant workers working in the Indonesian State, namely, there are
still trafficking crimes in Indonesia.
16
Such as only the case experienced by female workers who come from East Nusa
Tegara, Indonesia, Adelina, who is known to have received harsh treatment from her
mistress, where Adelina died due to continuous torture by her employer, to the point of
anemia and malnutrition, even Adelina's body had untreated scars, based on the Conventions
15
Deswita, Rosra, 2020, Juridical Study On Legal Protection Of Indonesian Migrant Workers Who Experienced
About Treatment In Malaysia From An International Law Perspective, p.9
16
Rai Yuliartini, N. P, Sudika Mangku, 2022, Legal Protection for Women Victims of Trafficking in Indonesia
in an International Human Rights Perspective, vol.9, p.1041
of the ILO and the previous MoU agreement between Indonesia and Malaysia, Malaysia will
act against the treatment of its citizens who commit torture, and countries such as Malaysia
and Indonesia have re-entered into cooperation to dismantle human trafficking, under the
guise of work and lucrative money on Indonesian workers, because Adelina migrant workers
are Indonesian workers with illegal status, so they cannot be monitored by the Indonesian
and Malaysian governments.
17
Conclusion
Based on the author's analysis and the data obtained during the analysis of this
scientific articel, the author concludes that the role of the ILO or the International Labour
Organization functions or has a role as an instrument for drafting Conventions for migrant
workers such as ILO Convention Number 19 of 1925 concerning Equal Treatment for
National and Foreign Workers and the ILO Convention No. 105 of 1957 on the Elimination
of Forced Labor, the ILO has been able to cooperate with Indonesia in protecting Migrant
workers whose nationality is indonesian who work abroad provides a special protection in
this regard for the category of vulnerable workers for them to work in countries within the
country of the Indonesian migrant workers themselves, meanwhile, in the case of the death
of Adelina Sau, a female worker from Indonesia who died as a result of violence obtained by
her employer in Malaysia, Adelina Sau turned out to be an illegal TKW and was brought in
by a person who is still unknown with the promise of a job in malaysia, based on the results
of the syndicate's investigation, the existence of trafficking crimes was one of the supporting
17
Yordan Gunawan, 2021, Introduction to Indonesian Legal System, Yogyakarta, UMY Press, p.
factors, one of which was the existence of Adelina's documents that had been forged, by
someone who brought her from home abroad.
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