Poor regulatory oversight of the labor recruitment industry in Indonesia makes it easier for fishing vessels, via local manning agents, to recruit migrant fishers that they can exploit. In 2020 there is growing evidence that the hyper-exploitation of migrant fishers in Asia has become considerably worse.

In May 2020, the Indonesian government promised to issue a long-awaited single system for regulating the recruitment and contracting of migrant fishers within its territory. A stated purpose is to make recruitment more orderly and so improve the welfare of the migrant fishers. The idea was to announce the new system this November, but that deadline has passed missing the opportunity to join in the celebrations for World Fisheries Day.

Now the Indonesian government is distracted by the significant resistance from a broad spectrum of civil society, foreign investors, and international organizations concerned about the recently-passed Job Creation Law. The Law claims to be an attempt to create employment but is said to also reduce protections for workers and the environment. The furor has emboldened the Ministry of Transport to step back from the May-compromise, in which it agreed to transfer control of recruitment and contracting to the Manpower Ministry as the legislature first required in 2004 and then again in 2017. The compromise promised to end a confusing period of service duplication, which effectively means manning agents can do as they please.

The new regulation is needed to bring order to a recruitment industry that is left to profit at the expense of some of Indonesia’s most vulnerable people. The government is much closer to issuing a regulation in 2020 than it was in 2004. But that is little solace for the many Indonesian boys and men who have been trafficked for forced labor over the years.

The regulation is urgently needed, but establishing a recruitment system should not be seen as the final step if the aim is to improve the recruitment and working environment of migrant fishers. This kind of regulation is a feature of international migration regimes in Asia, and the stated aim is frequently to reduce labor abuse.

But such government measures to protect migrant workers are known to have the reverse effect by creating forced labor situations. In large part, this is because of how labor migration is financed. Migrating through formal, regulated channels can and do leave migrant workers bearing large debts, leading many into debt bondage situations - the very kind that the systems are built to prevent.

Popular

Mixed-marriage families seek priority in dual citizenship plan

Citilink expands fleet to 43 aircraft, thanks to Danantara's support

Firefighters in Greece 'pushed to the limit' as winds rage