A/HRC/4/24/Add.3 page 7 C. The migration process The pre-departure stage and the role of labour agents 16. The large numbers of Indonesian women and girls migrating for work, as well as the demand for cheap domestic labour, has created a lucrative market for employment agencies in Indonesia and in receiving countries.9 A significant characteristic of this type of labour migration is that it is short-term and contract-bound. Women migrating in this way do so of their own free will, whether through networks or organized through intermediaries. Once a labour agency has been granted a licence, it does not have to undergo any further periodic reviews to have it renewed, and even though the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration has the power to cancel or suspend such licences, recourse to these measures is rare as the Ministry does not monitor labour suppliers regularly or rigorously. 17. Indonesian women migrating for domestic work often first come into contact with a local labour recruiter from their village. These recruiters do not usually receive a regular salary but may charge the migrant worker or work on commission for several different employment agencies, sometimes for both licensed agencies and illegal agents simultaneously. Many documented workers have to pay hefty fees - agency fees, insurance fees - and provide a bank guarantee, both in Indonesia and in receiving countries.10 18. The heavy administrative burden of legal migration - including payment to labour agencies and the lengthy time involved - has led many workers to migrate through irregular channels. In some cases prospective migrant workers may think they are migrating through legal channels but may actually be given fraudulent or inaccurate documents at some point in the process. Irregular migration puts workers at higher risk of abuse at all stages of the process, may involve higher fees, and severely limits their access to redress. With over 400 licensed domestic employment agencies - and countless more illegal ones - the lack of effective government oversight and the bureaucratic processes concerned with labour recruitment increase the risks of exploitation of prospective migrant domestic workers. 19. Labour agents often give incomplete or false information about the terms of employment, and migrant domestic workers are subject to deception and abuse by labour agencies prior to their departure from Indonesia. Labour agencies are typically involved in recruitment, training, transportation and placement of domestic workers. In many cases, as the intermediaries between employers and workers, the agencies set the terms of employment, including wages and holidays. Inadequate regulation and inadequate government oversight combine to give employment agencies enormous influence over the fate of migrant domestic workers. The lack of transparency in the management and use of payments officially required by the Government seems to support anecdotal evidence of collusion between some officials and recruitment agencies. 9 Human Rights Watch, “Swept Under the Rug: Abuses Against Domestic Workers Around the World”. 10 Ibid.