UnionAID partner Destructive Fishing Watch (DFW) Indonesia has revealed the harsh reality facing tuna processing workers across Jakarta, Bali, and North Sulawesi. Their recent research exposes how seafood companies keep workers vulnerable through repeated short-term contracts—some extending for as long as six years without permanent status. When US policy changes hit earlier this year, one factory promptly cut 60% of its workforce, highlighting workers’ disposability.
The research uncovered a troubling “chilling effect” where workers, fearing non-renewal of their three-to-twelve-month contracts, remain silent about unsafe conditions and unfair pay. This builds on DFW’s earlier findings about widespread labour rights violations in Indonesia’s seafood sector. Government officials have acknowledged the problem, reminding employers that under Indonesian law, fixed contracts cannot exceed five years without conversion to permanent status.
The UnionAID-DFW partnership is in its second year, with funding to support the establishment of a fisheries union in the Aru Islands.
