Indonesia solidifies its role in the international labour market, especially with its significant placement of Indonesian migrant commercial and fishing vessel crews, to work on foreign-flagged fishing vessels. Data from the Directorate of the Protection of Indonesian Citizens, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, indicates that approximately 250,000 Indonesian migrant fishers worked on foreign fishing vessels from 2013 to 2015, and the number was believed to be higher these days. Given the important contribution of the fishing industry to the region’s food security, the need to address labour conditions in fishing vessels must be given higher attention.

To enhance protection and ensure the well-being of Indonesian migrant working on the sea, IOM and BP2MI conducted a workshop in Jakarta on 20 June 2024 on the placement and protection of Indonesian migrant fishing and commercial vessel crews. The Government of Indonesia has regulated the placement and protection of Indonesian migrant workers in the Law No. 18 of 2017 concerning Protection of Migrant Workers. A new piece of legislation, Government Regulation No. 22 of 2022, extends these protections to those working at sea, specifically focusing on the crews of commercial ships and fishing vessels. This marks a considerable advancement for the welfare of Indonesian migrant workers within the maritime sector.

”The regulation has not been fully implemented. Synergy from all stakeholders is key to ensuring its implementation” said I Ketut Suardana, the Acting Secretary of BP2MI, in his opening remarks.

Mariko Tomiyama, Progamme Coordinator of IOM Indonesia emphasized, “It is essential to recognize the voices of migrant workers in the sea-based sector, identify protection gaps, and address the challenges they face. The government cannot ensure the fulfilment of rights and better protection alone. Raising awareness among the public and relevant stakeholders, including private sector and civil society actors, as well as migrants themselves, is imperative to address these issues comprehensively.”

The workshop was divided into two sessions, where the first session discussed the national and global regulatory framework with the speakers from the Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, and Universitas Paramadina.

Various ministries were involved in the first session to examine overlapping regulations, mainly on the placement of migrant workers working on the sea. It is mandatory for placement agencies (P3MI) to obtain licenses from MoM and BP2MI. Meanwhile, for the maritime industry, as the recruitment, placement, and protection of sea-based Indonesian Migrant Workers were conducted by manning agency, the license was released by Ministry of Transportation (MoT).

Benni Hasbiyalloh, a speaker from Paramadina University, highlighted this overlapping issue. "Disharmony in regulations and dualism of authority on the placement and protection of migrant fishing and commercial vessel crews are still prevalent. Therefore, harmonization of regulations must be prioritized".

The second session discussed the safeguarding of sea-based migrant workers and feedback mechanisms with speakers from BP2MI, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IOM, and the Indonesian Fisheries Workers Union (SPPI). This session emphasized the importance of standardizing the protection procedure for sea-based migrant workers as they receive different pre-departure orientation (PDO) than land-based workers. BP2MI oversees PDO for land-based migrant workers, while manning agency conducted the PDO for workers they were recruited.

IOM’s study “Navigating Indonesia Migrant Fishers: A study on Recruitment and Placement Process of Indonesian Migrant Fishers in the Republic of Korea” revealed that all workers received orientation from the manning agency prior to their departure; however, there was no standardization on the delivery of the training, as applied in the PDO provided by BP2MI.

BP2MI concluded the workshop by summarizing the discussions and announced that the results will be compiled into recommendations for the relevant ministries and agencies. Supported by the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MMPTF), it is hoped that the workshop can ensure the protection and well-being of Indonesian migrant fishing and commercial vessel crews everywhere despite their migration status.