Providers, pioneers, protectors: Sending company identities and practices in Indonesia’s international labor migration

  • #Other Publications and Papers

Drawing on government statistics and in-depth interviews with owners and directors of 21 migrant worker sending companies in Indonesia, we identify three types of migrant worker sending companies that engage in and facilitate Indonesia’s overseas labor placement—the providers, the pioneers, and the protectors. We argue that in a changed labor-sending context, only those sending companies with strong and positively received identities and practices can sustain their businesses and succeed in recruiting workers, indicating a shift in relationships between labor intermediaries and migrant workers, as well as the role of intermediaries in shaping Indonesia’s labor-sending patterns.

Authors
Firman Budianto, Gracia Liu-Farrer
Date of issuance
January 2026
Journal
Asian and Pacific Migration Journal
Language
English
Number of pages
21
Related areas
  • #Asia
Topics
  • #Migration and refugee issues
Research area
Development Cooperation Strategies
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/01171968251413793
Research project

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