Even though it happens hundreds of times each year, cases related to Indonesian migrant workers or PMI on foreign fishing vessels keep on repeating itself.
By
KRIS MADA
·5 minutes read
Kompas
The body of Musnan, a crew member from Bireuen Regency, Aceh who died while working on a Chinese fishing boat. The body is buried in Bireuen 18 August 2020.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Even though it happens hundreds of times each year, cases related to Indonesian migrant workers or PMI on foreign fishing vessels keep on repeating itself. The syndicate for the deployment of illegal migrant workers is estimated to earn more than Ro 100 billion per month from this lamentable practice. Apart from syndicate profits, overlapping regulations also contribute to the suffering of the Indonesian migrant workers.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry recorded that in 2020 there were at least various cases involving 237 Indonesian citizens on 45 fishing vessels belonging to 13 countries. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP2MI) noted that there were 415 cases related to PMI in the marine sector between January 2018 and May 2020. Most reports came from Taiwan, followed by South Korea, Peru, and China. Cases which are not reported or monitored are feared to be greater.
BP2MI Chairman Benny Rhamdani said the illegal PMI deployment syndicate network operates to remote villages and involves people in many countries. Such a large operating network, among other things, is due to the huge turnover of migrant worker deployment businesses.
The head of the Banda Aceh BP2MI Technical Service Unit, Jaka Prasetiyono, said that brokers can get Rp 20 million for each PMI candidate being recruited. A part of the money was given to the PMI families by the brokers. The money is to convince the PMI families that the brokers can deploy the PMIs. Moreover, although the brokers claim that the deployment is free, the fact is that the illegal PMIs have to pay after they work.
DOKUMENTASI BARESKRIM POLRI
The process of examining the crew of the ship (ABK) from the Long Xin 629 ship by the Police Criminal Investigation Agency. They are Indonesian citizens who are suspected of having experienced criminal acts of trafficking in persons and human exploitation.
PMIs on fishing vessels admitted that their wages were cut by at least US$50 per month as compensation for various costs for departure. Even the Taiwanese authorities have found the cuts of up to US$100 per month in a number of PMIs working on Taiwanese fishing vessels.
Referring to the Foreign Affairs Ministry\'s data regarding the number of PMIs on fishing vessels in Taiwan and South Korea alone, namely 249,447 people, the syndicate can earn US$12.4 million (Rp 174.6 billion) per month. In fact the number of PMIs on fishing vessels of foreign countries is far greater than what has been recorded.
Overlapping
There is a kind of "bancakan" (festivity) of authority because the authority is seen as a cake
Apart from the syndicate profits, overlapping regulations also contribute to PMIs\' suffering. BP2MI evaluation results show that PMI recruiting companies take cover under at least three permits. They make use of a business permit for the recruitment and placement of ship crews from the Transportation Ministry, a company permit for placing Indonesian migrant workers from the Manpower Ministry, and a company business permit from the Trade Ministry.
“There is a kind of "bancakan" (festivity) of authority because the authority is seen as a cake," said Benny. Especially for marine PMIs, according to Benny, there is an overlap of authority between the Manpower Ministry and the Transportation Ministry.
The tug of war for authority cannot be separated from the struggle for the budget. Without mentioning the amount of money for the employment of ship crews, Benny confirmed that there were those who were not willing to lose their authority because for them it meant losing their budget.
The fish caught are loaded in a pickup truck at the Ocean Fishery Port, Bitung, North Sulawesi, before being taken to a fish processing factory, Friday (17/7/2020).
One of the reasons for such an overlap of authority is the difference in interpreting the status of the marine PMIs. BP2MI and the Manpower Ministry refer to Law No. 18 of 2018 concerning PMI Protection which stipulates the fishing boat crews include the PMIs. On the other hand, the Transportation Ministry considers that seafarers are not migrant workers. "In the ILO C97 Article 11 convention it is stated that seafarers are not migrant workers," said Director of Shipping and Maritime Affairs of the Directorate General of Sea Transportation, Transportation Ministry, Capt Hermanta.
Now, there are at least three regulations regarding the deployment of the marine PMIs. The regulations are the Manpower Minister Regulation No. 9 of 2019, Regulation of the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister No. 42 of 2016, and Regulation of the Transportation Minister No. 84 of 2013. Unfortunately, all of these regulations only stipulate a license revocation sanction. There is no deterrent effect sanction if the obligations in those regulations are not implemented.
Meanwhile, the Manpower Ministry does not have the ability to supervise working conditions on fishing vessels, both inside and outside the territory of the Republic of Indonesia. In fact, supervision is mandatory.
The government is trying to solve this problem by issuing a draft government regulation (RPP) on the protection of marine PMIs. The RPP, which should have been published in September 2019, is in the process of harmonization at the Law and Human Rights Ministry.
However, Ratih Pratiwi Anwar, an international migrant researcher at the Center for Asia Pacific Studies at Gadjah Mada University, said the RPP was problematic. "The discussion does not take into account policies in the fishery industry and migrant workers in the employment countries," said Ratih. (AGE/AIN/ CAS/ ERK/ FRN/ IKI /JOG/ NAD/ NDU/ RAZ/ REN/ XTI)
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