Hundreds of participants attended the two-day public dialogues held in Kebumen, Central Java, from 19 to 20 December as part of the commemoration of the International Migrants Day. Organized by Migrant Care, an Indonesian NGO working deals with the protection of migrant workers, with support from the ILO through its Ship to Shore Rights South-East Asia Programme, the dialogues discussed recommendations for the improvement of services and protection of Indonesian migrant workers, including Indonesian migrant fishers.

The attending participants included representatives from the Ministry of Manpower, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the National Development (Bappenas), academia and a number of migrant workers’ association such as the Indonesian Migrant Domestic Workers Association in Malaysia (Pertimig), the Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Union (IMWU) in Hong Kong, the Indonesian Migrant Workers in Taiwan (TIMWA) as well as the Indonesian Fishers Union (SPPI) and a number of migrant fishers from the coastal area of Cirebon, West Java, Tegal, Centra Java and Banyuwangi, East Java.

The Vice Minister of Manpower, Afriansyah Noor, congratulated the participants for their commitment to continue improving the protection of migrant workers in the country together with the Indonesian government. “Happy International Migrant Day! The state must be present for all of its citizens, including migrant workers. Therefore, it is the duty of the government to work together with all of you to improve the protection of Indonesian migrant workers,” he stated in his opening remarks delivered online.

In terms of Indonesian migrant fishers, Wahyu Susilo, Executive Director of Migrant Care, reminded that the number has continued growing and the country should also prioritize the protection of its migrant fishers. He also reminded about the different challenges faced by migrant fishers considering their working conditions as well as recruitment and placement processes are different from their fellow migrant workers in land-based sector.

“We urge the government to improve the protection of Indonesian migrant workers, including migrant fishers. Therefore, the policy and regulation frameworks, including the upcoming national development plan for 2025-2029, need to address this particular sea-based migration sector,” said Wahyu.

Albert Bonasahat, National Programme Coordinator of the ILO’s Ship to Shore Rights Southeast Asia Programme, through a game called “Go Fishing” and brief presentation, shared information and knowledge about working conditions of fishers, gender elements related to the protection of fishers and some “myths and facts” of ILO Convention Number 188 on Work in Fishing. “By better understanding the working conditions and lives at sea, we can work together to ensure that Indonesian migrant fishers can enjoy their labour rights and have a decent working condition,” said Albert.

The public dialogues concluded with the development of set of recommendations that included the importance of harmonization of policy and regulation among relevant ministries and better coordination among relevant stakeholders at both national and regional levels. These set recommendations is planned to be submitted to Bappenas which has started the development of background studies from various sectors.

The Ship to Shore Rights South-East Asia (SEA) is a multi-country, multi-annual initiative of the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN), implemented by the ILO in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and aimed to promote regular and safe labour migration and decent work for all migrant workers in the fishing and seafood processing sectors in South-East Asia.