Agustinus Maun, Head of Port Office and Harbor Authority (KSOP) of Tanjung Benoa Port, assuredly presented the results of the first joint baseline survey and labour inspection conducted for fishing industry in Tanjung Benoa, Bali. The activity was conducted for five times with a total of 30 hours for 10 companies, involving representatives from KSOP of Tanjung Benoa, the provincial office of maritime affairs and fishers of Bali and the provincial manpower office of Bali.

“During the joint inspection, we found that the fishing industry in Bali has complied with the existing regulations. Wages are based on the minimum wages, working hours are according to the labour standard and working contract is already in line with the regulations,” explained Agustinus before the participants of the two-day Consultation Meeting on Strategic Compliance Planning on Fishing Sector in Bali in mid of July.

The workshop was a follow up to the previous workshop conducted in Manado City, North Sulawesi last March 2019 where labour and fishing inspectors from five provinces (DKI Jakarta, North Sumatra, North Sulawesi, Maluku and Bali) sat down together to share progresses on the implementation of the provincial inspection plans, including efforts to strengthen coordination with and between other relevant regulators.

In terms of the health insurance, Agustinus added that the joint inspection team found that some companies have used the national health insurance system like BPJS Kesehatan, some have preferred to use private insurance companies. “The amount of the insurance depends on the duration of working contract,” he said.

He admitted that the main challenges faced by the team was on the coordination and funding. In the future, the number of conducted joint selections would be reduced from five to two times for efficiency and to get funding, this joint inspection would be incorporated into regular programmes of each agency.

“Other challenge is how to better involve the companies. They greatly support the joint inspection activity, but they also question me about benefits gained by the companies from this activity,” told Agustinus.

A field visit for on-board vessel inspection

To examine the progresses made and the real conditions of the fishers, similar to the previous workshop, a field visit to Tanjung Benoa port was conducted. Tanjung Benoa port is the main port on Bali Island. The port is developed for both tourism and fishing industries. For fishing industry, it accommodates around 890 fishing vessels under 28 fishing companies with a total of 24,000 workers.

During the field visit, the participating labour inspectors inspected some fishing vessels and interacted with the fishers. They piloted the fishing inspection guidelines developed in the previous meeting in Manado, North Sulawesi. The field visit provided a venue for the participants to examine labour and working conditions of the fishers.

During the interview, the fishers admitted that they were paid based on the minimum wages and they receive a basic safety training and a seaman book as an identification for fishers. Based on the results of the field visit, the ILO’s facilitators— Valkyrie Hanson, Technical Officer of LAB/ADMIN OSH of ILO Geneva and Rene Robert, Senior Labour Inspection of ILO Regional Office in Bangkok—suggested to include labour related issues in the mandatory basic safety training that should be taken by fishers.

“We believe that this is an immediate next step that could be done to ensure labour rights of fishers. By incorporating labour related issues in the existing safety training programme, the fishers not only learn about the importance of safety in the ship, but also about their rights as workers,” said Valkyrie Hanson.

The meeting concluded with the identification of future improvements that could be taken and implemented for more effective joint inspection and for securing decent work in the fishing industry of Indonesia.

“The ILO greatly appreciate the commitment shown by relevant stakeholders in Bali to secure decent work in fishing industry through the joint inspection activities, covering all aspects of fishing industry including the labour aspects. The ILO will continue to assist the implementation of this good practice,” stated Michiko Miyamoto, Country Director of the ILO in Indonesia when closing the meeting.

The workshop was also in line with the celebration of the ILO Centenary. For 100 years, the ILO has advanced social justice and promoted decent work in all aspects of the world of work, including the fishing sector. The ILO Centenary also marks Indonesia’s 69 years journey with the ILO since becoming one of the ILO’s member States in 1950.