Jakarta, August 9, 2024 – DFW Indonesia participated in the Joint Inspection on Employment Aspects aboard Fishing Vessels organized by the Ministry of Marine and Fisheries Republic of Indonesia. This activity took place on August 7-8, 2024, at the Nizam Zachman Oceanic Fishing Port (PPS) and Muara Angke Fishing Port (PP). This joint inspection is the first of its kind at the national level. The inspection also involved the Ministry of Labor, Department of Food Security, Marine, and Agriculture Province of DKI Jakarta, and PSDKP Base of Jakarta. Participating in this event were the Labor Inspection Unit of Department of Labor and Transmigration North Sulawesi Province, who are pioneers in organizing this joint inspection in Indonesia.
The inspection successfully examined 12 fishing vessels, including 4 at PPS Nizam Zachman and 8 at PP Muara Angke. The purpose of this examination was to promote decent working conditions on fishing vessels, encourage compliance by vessel owners with labor regulations, and support Indonesia’s efforts to eliminate slavery practices on domestic fishing vessels. The choice of PPS Nizam Zachman and PP Muara Angke as the sites for the first national inspection was due to their status as major fish landing, distribution, and processing centers in Indonesia.
In this inspection, 6 aspects were reviewed, including: the general identity of the fishing vessel, the recruitment process for fishing crew, supporting documents for the fishing vessel, crew wage schemes, medical facilities on board, and safety and health aspects. Muhammad Iqbal, Senior Staff at DJPT, Ministry of Marine and Fisheries, stated that this activity is expected to serve as a catalyst for all parties to pay more attention to working conditions on fishing vessels.
“We at DJPT appreciate all parties involved in facilitating this inspection, from the preparation of modules, inspection forms, to reporting. We hope this can trigger our mechanism at the Ministry of Marine and Fisheries to assess working conditions on fishing vessels in Indonesia,” he said.
The findings and results of this inspection will be communicated to the companies or vessel owners for corrective action. “The Ministry of Marine and Fisheries and Ministry of Labor will send letters to vessel owners about the inspection and provide time for the relevant parties to improve crew management,” Iqbal said.
Meanwhile, the Director of DFW Indonesia, Imam Trihatmadja, mentioned that such inspections need to be conducted regularly to prevent detrimental and unfair labor practices for crew members. “This effort is a strategic step to prevent forced labor on domestic fishing vessels, and it needs to be regularly carried out by the Indonesian government,” said Imam. Imam urged the Ministry of Marine and Fisheries and the Ministry of Labor to make this activity a routine agenda supported by budgeting and personnel who understand the implementation of fishing vessel crew inspections. “There needs to be more measurable targets regarding the number of vessels and port locations to be inspected, as well as routine program and budgeting support from the Indonesian government to ensure the sustainability of this activity,” concluded Imam.
