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Exploring the impact of sending companies on Indonesian labor migration trajectories
Labor migration from Indonesia relies heavily on intermediaries, particularly migrant sending companies, which constitute a crucial part of the migration infrastructure. While recent research has increasingly focused on the facilitative role of intermediaries in channeling individual migrants' cross-border labor mobility, this study examines these intermediaries as distinct actors who have unique identities, exhibiting diverse resources and practices that significantly influence migrants' migratory trajectories. Based on extensive fieldwork data collected in Indonesia and dozens of interviews with representatives of a diverse sample of sending companies and migrant work seekers across different regions, this presentation sheds light on how sending companies' identities are shaped by their historical backgrounds, cultural values, and organizational history. These distinct identities are manifested in their transnational networks, their relationship with the governing bodies, the types of employment opportunities they offer, and their operational approaches in the migration business. We demonstrate how such varying identities of sending companies play a pivotal role in shaping migrant workers' migration trajectories, particularly in determining the choice of destination country, occupation, and the conditions under which they migrate. The existence of different sending companies creates specific channels that influence divergent migration paths to various countries pursued by migrant workers and their potential wellbeing.
- Authors
Gracia Liu-Farrer, Firman Budianto
- Year
- 2024
- Publication Name
- International Sociological Association (ISA) Research Council 2 (RC02) World Forum
- Category
- Conference Paper / Proceedings
- Keywords
- Migration brokerage, Indonesia, sending region