The fishing industry’s cruellest catch (indentured Indonesian workers on trawlers off the coast of New Zealand)

Citation

Skinner, E.B. (2012), "The fishing industry’s cruellest catch (indentured Indonesian workers on trawlers off the coast of New Zealand)", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 20 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/hrmid.2012.04420faa.008

The fishing industry’s cruellest catch (indentured Indonesian workers on trawlers off the coast of New Zealand)

Article Type: Abstracts From: Human Resource Management International Digest, Volume 20, Issue 6

Skinner E.B.Bloomberg Businessweek (USA), 27 February-4 March 2012, Start page: 70, No of pages: 6

Reports how indentured workers from Indonesia work on trawlers off the coast of New Zealand, having signed contracts that ensure that they work under appalling and unsafe conditions. Focuses on the case of one worker who was rushed into signing a contract with Indah Megah Sari (IMS), an agency that hires crews to work on foreign fishing vessels where, in addition to the agent’s commission, the worker would surrender 30 percent of his salary, which IMS would hold unless the work was completed, he would be paid nothing for the first three months, he would have to work whatever hours the boat operators demanded and, if the job was not finished to the fishing company’s satisfaction, he would be sent home and charged over 1,000 US dollars for the airfare. Reveals that the last line of the contract, in bold, warned that his family would owe approximately 3,500 US dollars if he were to run away from the ship, an amount that was greater than his net worth, and he had earlier submitted title to his land as collateral for that bond while, additionally, he had provided IMS with the names and addresses of his family members. Follows the harrowing career of this worker during which Indonesian fishermen were subjected to physical and sexual abuse by the ship’s operators. Concludes that the investigation laid bare how the 85 billion US dollar global fishing industry profits from the labour of people forced to work for little or no pay, often under the threat of violence and, although many seafood companies and retailers in the USA claim not to do business with suppliers who exploit their workers, the truth is far murkier.ISSN: 0007-7136Reference: 41AH074

Keywords: Working conditions, Employees, Fishing, Fisheries, Indonesia, New Zealand