Yudha Baskoro, Jakarta – Non-governmental organization Greenpeace Indonesia and Indonesian Labor Union (SBMI) held a protest at Aspiration Park in front of the National Monument, Central Jakarta last Thursday. The protesters demand President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to immediately ratify a government regulation on the protection of the Indonesian crewman.
The protesters said this regulation should have been passed no later than November 2019, or two years after the House of Representatives passed the 2017 Law on Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers.
The demonstrators staged a theatrical protest, bringing a coffin and wooden headstones carved with names of the crewman who had died at sea in the past five years. SBMI data showed that at least 11 crew members have died while working at foreign vessels during the period. Some of them were buried at sea.
Also, as many as 338 crew members working on foreign fishing vessels have filed complaints about their work conditions, SBMI data showed. They reported wage non-payment, poor working conditions, excessive working hours, fraud, physical and sexual violence, all of which are among 11 forced labor indicators set by the International Labor Organization (ILO).