Hundreds of participants from Indonesian migrant workers’ associations in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as representatives of government, academia, fishers’ unions and migrant fishers, attended a public dialogue in Kebumen, Central Java on 19-20 December. The meeting participants discussed recommendations to improve services and protection of migrant fishers and other migrant workers.
Organized by Migrant Care with support from the ILO Ship to Shore Rights South East Asia Programme, the dialogues were organized to commemorate International Migrants Day.
Wahyu Susilo, Executive Director of Migrant Care, told the attendees that the number of Indonesian migrant fishers has been growing and called on the government to prioritize their protection. He also discussed the different challenges faced by migrant fishers in their working conditions as well as recruitment and placement processes that are different from migrant workers in the land-based sector. “Indonesia’s policy and regulation frameworks, including the upcoming national development plan for 2025-2029, need to address this sea-based migration sector,” said Wahyu.
The public dialogues concluded with a set of initial recommendations that include harmonizing policies and regulations among ministries and improving coordination among stakeholders at both national and regional levels. The recommendations will be submitted to the Ministry of National Development.
