Fishery vessel workers (FVW) is a tough and uncertain job. The government of Indonesia should ensure the protection of the human rights and labour rights of these fishing boat’s crew members. However, the findings of Destructive Fishing Watch Indonesia (DFW) at the Nizam Zachman Ocean Fishing Port (PPS) in Jakarta found that there are practices of labour rights violations from the aspects of recruitment, work process, to post-employment.
The conditions at PPS Nizam Zachman are an example of the impact caused by the government that is still neglecting to ratify ILO Convention No. 188 which in detail has explained the rights of FVWs ranging from fair working hours, a wage system that is paid monthly, to ownership of certificates. In addition, the condition of FVWs at PPS Nizam Zachman also proves that the government has not properly implemented the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Regulation No. 33 of 2021. Indications of this are the absence of supervision over certificate ownership, information on employment in the fisheries sector, and ensuring that FVWs receive fair wages.
If this condition continues, it can be said that the government of Indonesia is normalizing the condition of fisheries FWPs who have no financial and social certainty. In addition, the government is also potentially involved in committing human rights violations due to not implementing existing policies properly and allowing violations experienced by FWPs.
This situation is contained in six DFW notes on the conditions of FVWs at the Nizam Zachman Samudra Fishing Port: (1) The recruitment process is still filled with manipulative, coercive, and intimidating brokers; (2) Ship owners and captains normalize AKPs who do not have the required certifications and competencies such as Basic Safety Training (BST); and minimal supervision from the Syahbandar; (3) Commodification of supplies by the captain that makes FVWs have to pay for supplies; (4) Absence of fair working hours and rest hours; (5) No breakdown and transparency of the profit-sharing system; (6) Deduction of salaries through kasbon (financial loan) due to manipulation and intimidation of brokers.
Based on these, DFW Indonesia urges the Government of Indonesia, especially the Technical Implementation Unit (UPT) of PPS Nizam Zachman, to improve the protection of FVWs through: (1) Improving FVW governance regulations, namely the revision of KP Regulation No. 33/2021 by containing provisions on a fair recruitment system, FVW supervision system, and certainty of FVW status as workers with inherent normative rights; (2) Conduct inspections and checks on the completeness of certifications and competencies such as BST, Seaman’s Book, and Sea Contract Agreement for every crew member of fishing vessels that will sail; (3) Consolidate and create a single authority responsible for regulating the governance, competency and certification standards, and protection of FVWs; (4) Consider a provincial minimum wage-based wage system in the fisheries industry and encourage fisheries workers’ businesses to be transparent in setting FVW wages.
