Aru Islands seafood workers form new union

In May 2025, Destructive Fishing Watch (DFW) Indonesia’s field facilitator first met with workers in the Aru Islands, particularly workers in Seafood Processing Units —in the local language called Kontainer. From the meeting, the facilitator obtained a lot of information about the wealth of natural resources in the Aru Islands, including the richness of its marine resources. It is both a blessing and curse at the same time. The seafood processing workers were exploited by the company to extract the value of Aru’s marine resources.

In their daily lives, the workers receive wages below the Provincial Minimum Wage, uncertain working and overtime hours, the absence of days off, working in extreme temperatures without adequate protection, and the absence of social security. Workers begin to work from 08:00 in the morning until 17:00 in the afternoon, for 7 working days (one week) continuously, but at certain times they also work overtime without proper compensation. Workers are only paid overtime around 10–15 thousand rupiah (or 1-1.5 NZD) per hour and it is calculated on average, not following the regulations of overtime arrangements.

Even with the existence of an employment contract, the welfare of workers is not guaranteed. Although workers sign contracts that state “Monthly Wage,” they are paid using a daily wage scheme. The amount of their salary is determined based on the total number of days worked, not as stipulated in the contract that was agreed upon.

These conditions are further exacerbated by weak supervision from the relevant authorities, such as the manpower office, the industry and trade office, the marine and fisheries office, and even the district government. Another matter that burdens workers is the excessive supervision from the security apparatus. They —the apparatus— attend monthly meetings between the company and workers as if legitimizing the company’s condition that “pressures” the workers. On the other hand, workers are also burdened with debt to the company because the wages they receive are not sufficient to meet their living needs. Data from May 2025 based on the debt and salary record book of processing company X (company name disguised) shows that workers’ debt occupies a central position in the pattern of fulfilling their living needs. Around 52.2% or half of their wages are debt. This means that almost half of the employees’ salaries are actually only “loans disbursed in advance.”

After several months of conducting intensive discussions using various media, such as arts as well as customary and cultural (adat dan budaya) approaches to the workers, courage and awareness among the workers finally emerged to reveal the working conditions that they experience. At present, the working conditions they experience have become a normality that has been formed and seems to have become an unwritten agreement in the social life in Dobo. In addition, this condition is exacerbated by a strong sense of kinship and tolerance which also maintains the “normalization” of the conditions of injustice that they experience.

Amid urgent circumstances, both in terms of social and economic aspects as well as personal security, workers are also faced with uncertainty due to the emergence of new awareness about the conditions they face. However, the conditions they face and the obstacles they encounter become encouragement for workers to continue to stand in solidarity. This principle of togetherness (kebersamaan) is what maintains the workers’ courage which ultimately becomes a shared agreement among the workers.

At its peak, they —the workers— collectively and with full awareness agreed to encourage the formation of a workers’ organization where the organization is a joint effort with the aim that workers can change their circumstances and working conditions and struggle together to obtain fair wages, security, and improve working conditions. In February 2026, the union was officially recorded in the Manpower and Transmigration Office of the Aru Islands Regency.

Author: S. Hendratno, DFW Indonesia Dobo Field Facilitator 

1. Official registration of SPEKA Aru administration to Manpower and Transmigration Office of the Aru Islands Regency
2. Administration process on registering SPEKA Aru to Disnakertrans of the Aru Islands Regency
3. Seafood workers routine discussion before SPEKA Aru officially registered
4. Seafood processing unit location in Aru Islands
5. Seafood processing unit storage room after working hours situation

6. Example on how seafood processing workers works daily