As a follow-up to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries which includes joint labour inspection efforts, the ILO's 8.7 Accelerator Lab programme organized an Inter-Ministerial Coordination Meeting to collect final feedback on the field guide on joint inspections and its dissemination strategy.

Held in Jakarta on 14 April, the coordination meeting was attended by representatives of relevant ministries from the Ministry of Manpower, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, the Ministry of Transportation, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment and the Provincial Labour Inspectors of Jakarta, Bali, West Java, and Central Java

Siti Umi Salamah, Manpower Ministry’s Director of Labour Inspection System, in her opening remarks, highlighted the coordinated steps that have been taken by relevant ministries to harmonize regulations covering the fishing sector, develop the field guide on labour inspection and to ensure labour law compliance through joint inspection. “We need to continue strengthening the collaboration and cooperation among relevant ministries, considering the important role of the fishing sector as the country’s economic driver,” she said.

Appreciating the joint efforts taken, Torstein Taksdal Skjeseth, Senior Adviser of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), said that similarly to Indonesia, the fishing sector was also considered a major sector in Norway. Addressing risks of forced labour and other labour abuses in this sector, therefore, was key to ensure the protection of workers’ rights.

“The innovative approach of the 8.7 Accelerator Lab of working towards improving fishers’ labour rights both at the global, regional and national levels has led to tangible progress, including through the development of this new field guide. We are impressed with the achievements of the Indonesian Government on this front, supported by the ILO,” he stated.

NORAD is one of the funding partners of the Multi-Partner Fund of the 8.7 Accelerator Lab Initiative, aimed to accelerate the replication of promising practices and identify new solutions to end forced labour and child labour globally. Indonesia is one of the partner countries for intervention in the fisheries sector, together with South Africa and Ghana.

To explain the application of the field guide, an inspection visit was conducted to one of the fishing vessels in the Nizam Zahman Oceanic Port of Jakarta. The inspected vessel had just arrived at the port after a 6-month trip fishing for tuna in the high seas. Both labour and fishing inspectors showed the inspection tools covering the working and living conditions of fishers.

During the inspection, the inspectors from the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries reminded one of the workers about occupational safety rules among others.

“It is dangerous to clean the freezers without anyone knowing his whereabouts. The remaining freon gas left in the freezer can make the worker feel dizzy or pass out. Thus, safety gears like face masks and gloves are needed,” explained Yogi Darmawan Effendi, Junior Expert of Fishing Inspection of the Directorate General of Surveillance and Control of Marine and Fishery Resources (PSDKP).

Towards the legalization of joint inspections

The joint inspection was followed by an interactive discussion on the next steps to ensure the Field Guide is anchored into a national policy on joint labour inspection of fishing vessels. Diah Tri Hartanti Prawitasari, a Coodinator at the Directorate of the Labour Inspection System of the Ministry of Manpower, explained that as a follow-up to the MoU, relevant representatives from the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, under the supervision of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, are now in the process of discussing a more operational Cooperation Agreement between the technical units of these two ministries.

“The Cooperation Agreement is important to legalize the implementation of the joint inspection. By having a formal, legal umbrella we can develop a sustainable national team for joint labour and fishing inspections in the fishing sector,” said Diah.

The meeting was concluded with a presentation on the dissemination plan on the Field Guide for the next three months at the provincial level. Two targeted ports have been identified. The first port is the Port of Belawan in North Sumatra, known as Indonesia’s busiest seaport outside Java. The Port is also located in the Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone (ZEEI). The second one is Probolinggo Port in East Java, located on one of the major highways across Java with a harbour that is heavily used by fishing vessels.

“These are two important ports for Indonesia with their own characteristics and are also known as the busiest ports. It is important for enforcement officers in these ports to be aware and to be equipped to implement joint inspections mechanisms and to make the best use of the Field Guide,” concluded Diah.