ILO extends its collaboration to other coastal universities to combat forced labour in the fishing industry

SEMARANG, Central Java, Indonesia (ILO News) - Twenty lecturers from four universities located in coastal areas of Central Java Province—Tegal, Pekalongan, Pati and Brebes Regencies—participated at the Training of Trainers (ToT) for the Adaptation of Teaching Labour for Business Students, jointly conducted by the Faculty of Economics and Business of the Diponegoro University (Undip) and the ILO’s 8.7 Accelerator Lab Programme. The ToT was a follow-up to a joint agreement between ILO and Undip to mainstream international labour standards to academic institutions.

The ILO values the collaborations that have been built with Undip and other coastal universities in Central Java. We hope that these programmes will strengthen the protection of Indonesian fishers.

Muhamad Nour, Coordinator of ILO’s 8.7 Accelerator Lab Programme in Indonesia

These lecturers were from local universities of Pancasakti Tegal University, Pekalongan University, Safin University of Pati and Peradaban University of Brebes. For two days from 6-7 September, they gathered in Semarang, the capital city of Central Java Province, to learn about concepts of decent work, the importance of decent work in business education, overview of the business and human rights framework and key international standards and guidelines. They also examined issues related to coastal economy and labour rights as well as advocacy and teaching techniques on labour rights.

“The ToT aims to scale up the initiative that has jointly developed with Undip to other local universities in coastal areas of Central Java. We hope that these training programme will enhance the curriculum and broadening the knowledge of the university's lecturers, students and faculty members at the regency level on international labour standards and decent work,” stated Muhamad Nour, Coordinator of ILO’s 8.7 Accelerator Lab Programme in Indonesia.

© ILO

© ILO

Greatly welcomed the initiative to widely involve educational organizations at the local level, Dr. Jaka Aminata, Head of Economics Study Programme of FEB Undip, emphasized the important involvement of academic institutions in the coastal areas at all levels to create opportunities to pool academic, policy-oriented and practical expertise on key labour issues that affect responsible business conduct, including child labour and forced labour at sea.

“It will not be enough to work at the national and provincial level to form a new generation of lecturers and students on business and human rights. We need future business leaders at all levels, including at the regency level, to be equipped with the tools, knowledge and expertise to recognize and address the changing realities of the word of work in a fair and just manner,” Jaka added.

Jaka also stated that Undip was pleased to be selected by the ILO as a pioneer university in Indonesia to mainstream issues related to business and human rights and to actions against forced labour in the fishing sector including issues on fair recruitment, representation of fishers, elimination of child labour and equal employment opportunity.

We need future business leaders at all levels, including at the regency level, to be equipped with the tools, knowledge and expertise to recognize and address the changing realities of the word of work in a fair and just manner.

Dr. Jaka Aminata, Head of Economics Study Programme of FEB Undip

The collaboration between ILO and Undip also closely follows a global Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Global Business School Network (GBSN) and the Geneva School of Economics and Management (GSEM) of the University of Geneva. These agreements are part of the ILO's efforts to innovatively collaborate with academic institutions in the field of business and human rights and create a global front against labour exploitation.

“The ILO values the collaborations that have been built with Undip and other coastal universities in Central Java which is known as the largest province of origin for Indonesian fishers in both Indonesian and foreign fishing vessels. We hope that these programmes will strengthen the protection of Indonesian fishers,” Muhamad concluded.