Vol. VII / No. 2 | February 2026

Authors:

Putri Ayu Ningrum – Undergraduate Student in International Relations, Universitas Amikom Yogyakarta

Summary

This article examines the practice of dual employment contracts affecting Indonesia Migrant Worker (PMI) in Turkey, particularly in the hospitality and services sectors. It highlight a recurring pattern in which workers sign verifield employment contracts in Indonesia (Contract A), only to be required to sign revised contracts with less favorable terms upon arrival in the destination country (Contract B). The article argues that these practices should be understood as manifestations of structural weakness in labor migration governance involving placement agencies, employers, and insufficient bilateral regulatory frameworks.

Keywords: Indonesia Migrant Workers, Dual Employment Contracts, Migrant Worker Protection, Power Assymetry, Indonesia-Turkey

Introduction

Turkey has increasingly emerged as a destination for Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI), particularly in the hospitality and services sectors. Rising demand for foreign labor and relatively stable income prospects compared to several traditional destination countries have increased Turkey’s appeal among Indonesian job seekers. Official Turkish labour statistics indicate that approximately 8,930 Indonesian workers received new work permits in 2024, indicating that PMI presence in Turkey forms part of a growing formal labour migration corridor (Antara News, 2025).

Historically, Indonesian labor migration has concentrated on Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore (KP2MI, 2022). Recent changes in international labor market structures have contributed to the emergence of non-traditional destination countries, including Turkey (Cooper, 2014).

Behind this narrative lies the practice of dual employment contracts, referring to situations in which PMI sign employment contracts in Indonesian that are verified and recorded in SISKOP2MI ( Computerized System For Servicing and Protecting Indonesian Migrant Workers), but are subsequently presented with different contracts upon arrival. These revised contracts frequently alter wages, working hours, job descriptions, and labour rights, disadvantaging workers (Cooper, 2014).

The author’s internship experience at BP3MI Yogyakarta (Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection  Center) from September to November 2025 indicates that complaints related to dual contracts are not incidental. Several PMI recruited through official placement agencies reported discrepancies between contracts uploaded to SISKOP2MI and those enforced by employers in Turkey. This aligns with national data showing that BP2MI (Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency) received 2,849 formal complaints from PMI throughout 2025 (Muhammad, 2025). BP2MI reports further identify contract violations as among the most frequently reported complaints (KP2MI, 2023).

International labour organization (ILO) literature identifies unilateral contract changes after arrival as a manifestation of power asymmetry faced by migrants workers, particularly in the absence of effective cross-border monitoring mechanism (ILO, 1996). Employment contracts are intended to function as legal protection instruments ensuring transparency, legal certainly, and informed consent form the pre- departure stage (ILO, 2010). When officially verified contracts can be altered after arrival, the protection promised by formal placement systems becomes largely illusory.

Accordingly, dual employment contracts affecting PMI in Turkey should be understood not merely as administrative violations, but as indicators of structural weaknesses in migrant worker placement governance, including inadequate oversights of placement agencies, limited agreements between Indonesian and Turkey (IOM, 2022).

Contract Mechanisms and the PMI Placement System

Within Indonesia’s legal PMI placement system, employment contracts constitute a fundamental document defining the rights and obligations of migrant workers. Initial contracts are prepared by destination-country placement companies affiliated with P3MI (Indonesian Migrant Worker Placement Company), then verified and uploaded to SISKOP2MI (Computerized System For Servicing and Protecting Indonesian Migrant Workers), a system managed by BP2MI to ensure contractual compliance prior to departure.

Contacts recorded in SISKOP2MI are expected to reflect actual working conditions in the destination country and serve as the basis for PMI protection during overseas employment. Contractual changes after PMI arrive constitute serious violations, as they potentially contravene protection principles stipulated in Law. No.18 of 2017 on the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (Undang-Undang Pelindungan Pekerja Migran Indonesia, 2017).

Dual Contract Practices: From Contract A to Contract B

A commonly reported pattern involves PMI being recruited through official placement agencies, signing contracts recorded in SISKOP2MI (Contract A), and completing all pre-placement procedures in accordance with BP2MI regulations. Upon arrival in Turkey, some employers require PMI to sign revised contracts (Contract B), typically justified by references to local visa classifications, work permit arrangements, or firm-level compliance practices under Turkish labor regulations.

PMI who refuse these revisions perceive their rights as violated, as the contract approved prior to departure is understood to constitute the binding employment agreement. When PMI submit complaints from Turkey of return to Indonesian, BP2MI facilitates mediation between PMI and placements agencies. While agencies often argue that Contract B falls under the authority of partner companies in Turkey, placements agencies remain responsible for ensuring consistency between job orders, employment contracts, and placement agreements throughout the migration process (Undang-Undang Pelindungan Pekerja Migran Indonesia, 2017).

Analytical Question: Who Bears Responsibility?

Responsibility for dual contract practices can be examined through three perspectives.

First, placement agencies are legally obligated to ensure that job orders correspond to actual working conditions in destination countries. Systematic occurrences of dual contracts indicate shortcomings in verification and oversight. Observations during the author’s internship show that agencies involved are predominantly private placements agencies operating under government authorization. During mediation, agencies frequently adopt defensive positions, attributing contractual changes to Turkish partner companies, reflecting limited leverage due to their dependence on overseas partners for job orders and work permit arrangements, as well as the absence of effective legal resource and cross-border enforcement mechanisms (Undang-Undang Pelindungan Pekerja Migran Indonesia, 2017).

Second, partner companies in destination countries, in this case Turkey, contribute to dual contract practices by enforcing new contracts based on internal standards or local regulatory interpretations without honouring original agreements. Such practices contradict international principles of migrant worker protection emphasizing fair and transparent employment contracts    (ILO, 2025). Power asymmetries exacerbate this situation, as PMI often form lower-income backgrounds with limited access to legal assistance accept revised contracts to avoid risks such as job termination, loss of visa sponsorship, or irregular migration status.

Third, bilateral regulatory framework between Indonesia and Turkey remain insufficient. The absence of comprehensive bilateral agreements establishing minimum contract standards and monitoring mechanisms increases the risk of contracts violations and weakens migrant worker rights enforcements (IOM, 2022).

Impacts on PMI and the Credibility of Official Placement Systems

Dual contract practices directly affect PMI welfare and are not confined to Turkey alone. Discrepancies between initial contracts and actual working conditions frequently result in wage reductions, excessive working hours, and loss of basic labor rights, creating insecure employment environments(Safitri & Wibisono, 2023).  These findings align with ILO assessments identifying contract violations as a major factor increasing migrant worker vulnerability (ILO, 2025). Beyond individual-level impacts, dual contract practices undermine the credibility of official placement mechanism. When formal procedures fail to ensure contractual consistency and rights protection, public trust erodes, encouraging prospective workers to consider non-procedural pathways that entail significantly higher risks (IOM, 2022).

These conditions highlights structural weaknesses in labour migration governance, involving migration authorities, labour institution, and regulatory bodies with overlapping mandates (IOM UN Migration, 2024). Weak supervision, uneven standards enforcement, and limited cross-border coordination undermine worker protection. Inconsistent implementation of international standards further contributes to irregular migration, as formal procedures come to be perceived as administrative burdens rather than protection instruments (ILO, 2017).

Civil society organizations such as Migrant Care play a role in migrant worker advocacy, however, their engagement is not uniform across destination countries. In the Turkey context, no direct involvement of migrant care was observed within official placement mechanisms during the author’s internship, indicating that migrant worker protection remains primarily reliant on state institutions such as BP3MI.

Conclusion: The Need for Structural Reform

The Indonesian-Turkey case demonstrates that dual contract practices are not country-specific, but reflect broader structural weakness in labour migration governance that may also arise in other destination countries where recruitment is mediated by private actors and post-placement oversight remains limited. In this sense, the Turkey case illustrates governance risks shared across both traditional and emerging destinations.

Addressing these challenges requires clear state leadership in labour migration governance, with migration and labour authorities such as BP2MI, in coordination with labour ministries, playing a central role in standard setting, recruitment oversights, and cross-border monitoring. At the bilateral level, labour Memoranda of Understanding must be strengthened or transformation into enforceable arrangements, supported by joint monitoring mechanisms and accountability provisions. Without binding and enforceable MoUs, dual contract practices are likely to persist, undermining worker protection and the credibility of official placements systems.

References

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Muhammad. (2025). Ada 2.849 Aduan Pekerja Migran Indonesia pada 2025, Ini Keluhannya. Databoks. https://databoks.katadata.co.id/ketenagakerjaan/statistik/69674595779f8/ada-2849-aduan-pekerja-migran-indonesia-pada-2025-ini-keluhannya

Safitri, D., & Wibisono, A. A. (2023). Keamanan manusia pekerja migran indonesia: ketidakamanan dan perlindungannya. Journal of Internasional Studies, 7(2), 741–769. https://doi.org/10.24198/intermestic.v7n2.17

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