Employers and educators vow to address discrimination and harassment in the maritime industry

Indonesia’s maritime sector has maintained growth momentum following the increase in global trade and integration. Yet discrimination and harassment towards women, people with disabilities and those living with HIV/AIDS in the industry persist.

In Indonesia, these groups have limited access to learning and employment in the maritime sector. On board a ship, women frequently face sexual violence and harassment, while safe and friendly working conditions for people with disabilities or HIV/AIDS remain elusive.

A series of training sessions organized in Indonesia from 13-17 December 2021 by the Skills for Prosperity Programme in Indonesia (SfP-Indonesia) - an initiative implemented since 2019 by the International Labour Organization and funded by the United Kingdom government - have brought new perspectives to participants and further strengthened their commitment to addressing the issues at their institutions.

Toni Pangaribuan, Chairman of the Indonesian Seafarer Union or Kesatuan Pelaut Indonesia (KPI), vows to take concrete actions to tackle the problems.

It is true that women and other vulnerable groups often face difficulties finding jobs and internships in maritime."

Toni Pangaribuan, Chairman of the Indonesian Seafarer Union or Kesatuan Pelaut Indonesia

“It is true that women and other vulnerable groups often face difficulties finding jobs and internships in maritime,” said Mr Pangaribuan.

“We plan to select frontline officers from 34 provinces to advocate for anti-discrimination and anti-harassment measures, especially among women seafarers,” he added.

Rahindra Bayu Kumara, Lecturer at Politeknik Maritim Negeri Indonesia (Polimarin), shared how the training has altered his previously misguided views.

“Before participating in this training, I was afraid of people with HIV and AIDS as I didn’t know about the transmission process and other things. The training has shifted my perception of them. It has helped me develop my consciousness to protect them and help them get decent jobs and the same rights as other people,” said Mr Kumara.

Meanwhile, Rina Sandora, Gender Focal Point of Politeknik Perkapalan Negeri Surabaya (PPNS), shared her commitment to promoting gender equality at her institution. “This training has helped me improve my knowledge of gender equality so that I can be more sensitive to gender-related issues and responsive to the diversity needs around us. This is what I will bring to my institution, PPNS. We will build a task force to tackle discrimination and harassment and run several campaigns,” said Rina.

Other participants at the training included representatives of the programme’s four partner polytechnics (Pomarine, PPNS, Polimanado and Polibatam) along with industry representatives and trade unions. The training utilized handbooks developed by the ILO based on interviews and focus group discussions with women working in the maritime sector, as well as other international labour standards. During the training, the participants role-played various ways to approach the issues and then created action plans.

Halida Nufaisa, Education and Skills Adviser at the British Embassy in Jakarta, said there were 430,000 gender-based violence cases reported in Indonesia in 2019 alone.

“We know that the actual number could be bigger. This raised concern among women in all sectors,” said Ms Nufaisa. “Unfortunately, this issue is still rarely discussed in male-dominated sectors like maritime. Hence, this training is important for everyone both in education and industry so we can create a more equal and inclusive maritime environment."

The training is aimed at improving equity in accessing maritime education and employment for under-represented groups as well as promoting social inclusion at the maritime workplace.

Kazutoshi Chatani, ILO Jakarta’s Employment Specialist, said the training is a way to update everyone’s knowledge and understanding of HIV/AIDS.

“People living with HIV/AIDS are just like other people with certain health conditions. Thanks to the advancement of medicine and treatment techniques, they can maintain productivity at work. Therefore, there is no need to discriminate or stigmatize them,” said Mr Kazutoshi.

“We all know that gender-based violence (GBV) can happen everywhere. Through this training, we would like to raise our voices against GBV,” Mr Kazutoshi added.

One of SfP-Indonesia’s objectives is to promote a gender-equal, harassment-free maritime workplace and increase economic opportunities for marginalized groups.

The ILO has the mandate to promote decent work, including creating employment opportunities for all and facilitating social dialogues on work-related issues. Through SfP-Indonesia, the ILO works with stakeholders to review policies and labour market conditions and then provide recommendations on career opportunities in maritime for the marginalized groups. The programme also advocates for workforce diversity and workers’ rights.