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Indonesia, Taiwan prepare migrant fisher protection pact
The agreement between Indonesia and Taiwan will regulate about the protection for migrant fishers working on Taiwanese vessels working on open seas, among other provisions.
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Show of solidarity: Activists from the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI) and Greenpeace Indonesia stage a rally on Aug. 17, 2020, outside the State Palace in Jakarta, to demand the enactment of a government regulation to protect Indonesian fisherfolk. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
T
he government is working on an agreement with Taiwan to protect Indonesian migrant fishers amid increasing cases of human rights violations against them.
Taiwan has long been a magnet for Indonesian migrant fishers, with nearly 220,000 workers working on Taiwanese vessels between 2013 and 2015, the largest number of any country, according to data from the Foreign Ministry.
The agreement would regulate the process of employing migrant fishery workers, and would cover several issues including worker protection, stakeholders’ rights and obligations, standard work contracts, wages and cost structure.
Details on the said provisions will be discussed further with Taiwanese stakeholders, said Rendra Setiawan, the Manpower Ministry’s migrant worker protection and placement director.
“The government is currently coordinating internally to formulate provisions on the protection of Indonesian migrant fishers in Taiwan as mandated by the law,” Rendra told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.
News about the inadequate working and living conditions for migrant workers in Taiwan or on Taiwanese fishing vessels has frequently made the headlines over the past decade.
Read also: Forced labor of Indonesian crewmen persists on foreign vessels: Report
