Indonesia reaffirmed its commitment to promoting safe and fair migration and decent work in the fishing and seafood supply chain with the launch of the new phase of the Ship to Shore Rights South-East Asia: Safe Migration for Decent Work in the Blue Economy programme.
Key stakeholders from government institutions, employers' and workers' organizations, civil society met in Jakarta on 25 June 2025 for the first National Project Advisory Committee (NPAC) Meeting. Many of the participants were also members of the NPAC from the previous phase of Ship to Shore Rights SEA, thus demonstrating their continued support. The programme also welcomed the Ministry of Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection (KP2MI), established in October 2024, and sits on the Committee for the first time. The meeting endorsed the national work plan for Indonesia and agreed on collaborative actions to implement the programme.
The meeting opened with remarks from programme partners. Representing the Secretary General of the Ministry of Manpower, Estiaety Haryani, Expert Staff for Institutional Relations, welcomed the initiative and stressed the importance of joint action: "The NPAC Meeting is very important to guide the implementation of the Programme for the next four years, and will help all stakeholders to support each other in implementing the work plan, for better protection of Indonesian workers in fishing and the seafood supply chain. This will help Indonesia strengthen its fishing industry too."
Saiti Gusrini, a representative from the European Union Delegation for Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam and the chair of the NPAC meeting welcomed the launch and reaffirmed the EU's support: "We are pleased to continue supporting the Ship to Shore Rights South-East Asia Programme. The progress made in the previous phase has brought tangible benefits to Indonesian fishers, seafood processing workers, and migrant fishers employed abroad. With fisheries being a vital export commodity, we believe the programme will make a strategic contribution to strengthening the industry by promoting decent work across Indonesia's Blue Economy."
The national work plan includes key activities aligned with four strategic objectives: strengthening regional cooperation on labour migration, including through ASEAN-level collaboration; reinforcing legal and policy frameworks to enhance protections for fishers and seafood workers; promoting responsible business conduct through improved recruitment practices and due diligence; and empowering workers and their communities through legal support, promotion of collective bargaining agreement, empowerment of migrant resource centre for migrant fishers, financial literacy, and reintegration services.
The programme will provide technical assistance tailored to the fishing and seafood supply chain in Indonesia, including capture fisheries, aquaculture, and seafood processing. It will also address risks in the labour migration process, such as recruitment and placement, exploitation, and forced labour.
Ship to Shore Rights South-East Asia: Safe Migration for Decent Work in the Blue Economy is a regional initiative funded by the European Union (EU). The ILO implements the programme in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with the overall objective of promoting safe labour migration and decent work for a sustainable fish and seafood supply chain in South-East Asia. The programme addresses the specific vulnerabilities that workers face in these sectors and supports coordinated responses across Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
