Indonesia is the world’s third-largest seafood producer, contributing 13 million tonnes of seafood in 2022 and providing livelihoods for 5.3 million fishers, aquafarmers and processing workers (FAO, 2024). Despite its importance to the global and national economy, the sector is fraught with labour rights challenges. Fishers endure gruelling work hours in isolated conditions, making it hard to identify or address labour violations. In processing plants, where women dominate the workforce, labour rights issues are frequently overlooked, leaving many workers lacking representation and access to remedies, compounding their risk of labour rights violations.
Research by Professor Michele Ford and the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre (SSEAC), commissioned by the Freedom Fund, underscores the value of grassroots organising as a long-term strategy for improving labour rights in Indonesia’s seafood sector. The study calls for a prioritisation of worker-driven unions and associations over market-based approaches like certification schemes. This strategy supports workers to advocate for better wages, improved conditions and fundamental rights, fostering sustainable, worker-led change.
Supporting worker-led organising is more complex and time-intensive than delivering services or advocacy. Precarious employment terms further hinder mobilisation. However, examples from the Thailand seafood sector demonstrate that, with support from associations and unions, vulnerable seafood workers can organise effectively. Worker-driven unions and associations have a proven track record of driving fundamental improvements to wages and working conditions, empowering workers to leverage collective bargaining and access industrial relations mechanisms for sustained improvements.
NGOs, advocacy networks and international efforts play vital roles in strengthening unions and workers’ associations while improving labour conditions in the seafood sector. NGOs contribute by providing resources, training and facilitating access to public services and healthcare for worker groups. Advocacy networks collaborate with unions and associations to drive policy reforms, amplifying workers’ voices. Meanwhile, international support, combined with constructive dialogue, ensures the development of sustainable strategies that prioritise workers’ rights and well-being.
As a follow-up to the initial research, Professor Ford and SSEAC reviewed the program and offered further recommendations for the Freedom Fund’s program and partners in Indonesia:
Harnessing the strengths of partnerships: NGOs and unions should specialise in activities that align with their strengths. For instance, unions could focus on mobilising seafood processing workers, while NGOs with legal expertise address complaints and policy reforms. This ensures efficient use of resources and avoids duplication.
Embracing a hybrid unionisation strategy: Combine workplace-specific organising to strengthen the presence of unions within worksites, with regional unions to unite workers across employers. This model is particularly crucial for fishers, who often move between employers, and has proven effective in industries like the gig economy.
Adopting an industrial relations approach: Develop more worker-centred collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), focusing on wages, working conditions and access to social protections. Workers with relatively stable status — such as fishers on larger vessels and processing workers with long-term employment contracts — while not the most vulnerable, can serve as key constituencies in collectivisation efforts.
Strengthening strategic alliances: Educate mainstream unions about the importance of organising in the seafood sector and leverage international agencies, such as the International Labour Organization, to deepen ties with these larger bodies. Certification and environmental organisations should also be encouraged to strengthen and enforce labour standards in their criteria.
Enhancing evidence building and advocacy: Improve data sharing between NGO partners to build a collective evidence base for joint advocacy to influence national and local policies. In addition, collaborate with international organisations to raise awareness about the conditions faced by Indonesian seafood workers and the importance of localising international standards.
Dr. Hasriadi Masalam, Program Advisor at the Freedom Fund Indonesia hotspot, emphasised the significance of adopting these recommendations. “Adopting a good mix of these set of recommendations is key to ensure a workers-centred approach, as well as the development of a strong collaborative ecosystem among hotspot partners,” says Masalam. “In fact, such an ecosystem could escalate to bring systemic change to the wider industry stakeholders. The focus on a worker-centred perspective is particularly fundamental because the fisheries sector has the lowest trade union density rate. In that case, combining the strategies of hybrid unionisation and the promotion of an industrial relations approach will strengthen workers’ bargaining power.”
Improving labour rights in Indonesia’s seafood sector is challenging but achievable. Long-term strategies centred on worker-led organising empower workers to take action for themselves, moving beyond passive program participation. Through these worker-centred efforts, it is possible to create a more equitable and just working environment for seafood workers in Indonesia, ensuring their rights are respected and their voices heard.
Photo credit: Armin Hari/The Freedom Fund
