Around 300 participants took part in a seminar entitled "Promoting Decent Work in the Indonesian Fishing Sector" on March 29 at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Diponegoro University (FEB Undip), Semarang, Indonesia. The participants consisted of students and lecturers of FEB Undip as well as business school lecturers from various universities throughout Indonesia who attended the seminar online.

The event was organized by FEB Undip in collaboration with the ILO's 8.7 Accelerator Lab Programme to raise awareness of working conditions in the fishing sector. This activity is part of the ILO's efforts to innovatively collaborate with academic institutions in the field of business and human rights, as described in this article.

The event was opened by Prof. Dr. Suharnomo, S.E., M.Si, Dean of FEB Undip. He welcomed the joint seminar considering the province of Central Java is a coastal, fishing area and the largest province of origin for Indonesian fishers in both Indonesian and foreign fishing vessels. "Thus, it is important for us to understand this issue and for students to build businesses in the future that uphold labour and human rights," he said.

Dr. Jaka Aminata, Head of Economics Study Programme of FEB Undip, and the ILO’s National Programme Coordinator for the 8.7 Accelerator Lab in Indonesia, Muhamad Nour, explained further about the importance of working for an Indonesian fishing industry that is free from forced labour and other forms of decent work deficits, in line with the Sustainable Development Goal Target 8.7.

Fishing sector is vulnerable to forced labour

Indonesia is one of the world's largest fish producers along with China and Peru. Indonesia is also one of the largest countries of origin of fishers, employing approximately 2.1 million workers in the wild capture fisheries sector and more than 3.1 million in the processing and marketing of fisheries products.

However, Muhamad Nour reminded participants that fishers and seafarers are vulnerable to forced labour and human trafficking. He stated that migrants are three times more vulnerable to forced labor than other workers. “Migrant workers are more vulnerable to forced labour due to their isolated and poor working environments that make them less able to fight for the rights against their employers,” said Nour.

He also interactively involved the participating students to identify the 11 indicators of forced labour: abuse of vulnerability; deception; restriction of movement; isolation; physical and sexual violence; intimidation and threats; retention of identity documents; withholding of wages; debt bondage; abusive working and living conditions; and excessive overtime.

“Weak supervision in this sector is one of the factors that has led to the increased risk of forced labour. Compared to land-based workers, migrant fishers are on the vessels at sea for months or even years. Working in the high seas, who will monitor their working conditions?” he said.

For this reason, Nour emphasized the crucial need for students – the next generation of business owners and leaders – to build a good understanding of the existing challenges and good labour practices.

“This is a venue for all of us to first learn; to understand these labour issues and to be knowledgeable before entering the world of work. We also need to build a critical mindset so that we can both ensure a future with decent work for all when building and managing enterprises,” he concluded.

Students stand ready to promote the eradication of forced labour

The students enthusiastically participated in the interactive Q&A session. Various questions were posed from students, including one on the role of trade unions and the relevant ministries in ensuring decent working conditions and addressing forced labour in the fishing industry.

Responding to these questions, Muhamad Nour explained about the establishment of the Trade Unions’ Network in the Fishing Sector in June 2022. The network aims to foster common voice between trade unions and to reinforce bilateral and tripartite social dialogues in the fishing sector. Meanwhile regarding the involvement of the relevant ministries, he shared about the joint labour inspection between the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries to ensure decent working conditions and the elimination of forced labour in the fishing sector.

Jaka appreciated the enthusiasms shown by the participants during the seminar. He also shared his experience meeting with fishers in Pemalang district of Central Java. "Through university community service activities, we will support the empowerment of fishers not only in terms of understanding their labour rights but also in terms of financial literacy and business development,” he said.

Helen Nadia Kaparang, an eighth semester FEB Undip student, appreciated the information shared in the seminar. “Honestly, this is very interesting. I learned a lot and it is closely related to my undergraduate thesis on the fish supply chain. During my interaction with small-scale fishers and from what I learn from this session, they are also vulnerable to forced labour as most of them tend to borrow money from moneylenders," she shared.

Meanwhile, Sephia Kusuma Firdaus, another FEB student, also greatly welcomed the event. According to her, forced labour in the fishing sector is linked to all economic actors in the supply chain, from seafood producers to consumers. “Whether we realize or not, this issue is related to everyone. Many people consume fish but they are not aware from where the fish is taken,” she stated, adding that she wanted to contribute by disseminating what she has learnt about the risks of forced labour to her networks.

This article was written by Annisa Zulfalia Az Zahra, Fahrina Alya Purnomo, Almira Khairunnisa Suhendra, Dinda Khansa Berlian and Uli Zahro Irsyadiah, Department of Communication of Faculty of Social and Politics Science, Dipenogoro University, Semarang as part of the campaign programme for the elimination of forced labor in the fisheries sector conducted by the 8.7 Accelerator Lab.