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A law lecturer from Universitas Indonesia (UI) Ari Afriansyah as Expert presented by the Applicant delivered his expertise at session on Act of Indonesian Migrant Workers Placement and Protection Overseas (Undang-Undang Penempatan dan Perlindungan Tenaga Kerja Indonesia di Luar Negeri –UU PPTKILN) on Wednesday (29/4) at Plenary Room, the Constitutional Court Building. Photo PR/Ganie.

 

 

The Applicant of judicial review on Act of Indonesian Migrant Workers Placement and Protection Overseas (Undang-Undang Penempatan dan Perlindungan Tenaga Kerja Indonesia di Luar Negeri –UU PPTKILN) presented expert at session held on Wednesday (29/4) at Plenary Room, the Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi –MK). He presented Ari Afriansyah, a law lecturer from Universitas Indonesia. Afriansyah explained the Indonesia Migrant Workers Card (Kartu Tenaga Kerja Luar Negeri –KTKLN) was unacceptable in the international community because it did not conform to international convention of Seafarer Identity Document (SID).    

Afriansyah delivered that Indonesia as sovereign state had the authority to make its domestic rules and implemented the rules to their citizen. However, Indonesia as a part of international community should respect interstate norms called the international law.   

Related with migrant workers protection, Afriansyah said that Indonesia had bound with international Labour Organization convention, particularly towards the regulation on Seafarer Identity Document (SID). By agreeing to be bound with the convention, the Indonesian government should follow or attach with the convention in its entirely.

By attaching to the SID Convention, the Indonesian seafarers who abroad were required to have a seamen book according to ILO Convention on SID in 1958. Since became the member of convention, Indonesia required to issue SID document. By SID, Indonesian seafarers had same identity with other countries seafarers. The same document which accepted by international community would ease Indonesian seafarers when dealing with other countries immigration.  

“The SID along with Indonesian passport which internationally accepted,(would ease) Indonesian seafarers to work with foreign ships,” said Afriansyah in front of Plenary Justice led by Chief Justice Arief Hidayat.

Uniformity document for Indonesian seafarers was considered important, because recently illegal practices were massively occurred by the ships which had obscure flag or often called reflagging practice. The Indonesian seafarers who have no international documents could be the victim when arrested by the authorities.

“The role of Indonesian government would be important as an entity which generally protects Indonesia migrant workers in abroad, and particularly the seafarer is a job type which has unique requirements and risks. The protection had conducted by the government by issuing the SID which appropriate with international standard, so it could ease the seafarers in carrying out their job. However in the practice, the seafarers’ passport or SID are often detained by the ship captain as job guarantee,” explained Afriansyah.

Indonesian government by Article 62 Act of Indonesian Migrant Workers Placement and Protection Overseas was in fact had obliged the migrant workers to have the Indonesian Migrant Workers Card (KTKLN) as anticipation of the seafarers’ lack of identity in abroad. However, the card wasn’t accepted under the international law as SID and passport replacement, although Afriansyah noticed that the card contained complete private identity. However, the lack of international recognition was in fact made the KTKLN card useless.  

“In international law context, the international community will only ensure the implementation of rules contained in the interstate agreement. In this context, Indonesia\'s obligation under ILO Convention No 185 is issue a document which has information standards that have been required in order to be received all over the world. The KTKLN will lose its relevance if the two main objectives of KTKLN –for the replacement of identity apart of SID and passports, as well as to protect the seafarers with mandatory debriefing and insurance– cannot be implemented practically and hamper the seafarers in managing their matters relating to the their job," said Afriansyah.

Last Session

After listened to Afriansyah testimony, Arief Hidayat asked the related parties regarding on the next schedule. The parties have had enough to present experts and witnesses in the proceedings which already held sixth times.

Therefore, Arief reminded the parties to submit the conclusion on Friday (8/5) at 3 p.m. at the latest. “I remain, the submission of conclusion could be directly submitted. No more session, so it is submitted to the Registrar on Friday May 8, 2015 at 3 p.m.,” Arief closed the session. (Yusti Nurul Agustin/Prasetyo Adi N.)

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