Economist: Ratification of ILO 188 Brings Justice to Fishery Workers
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Economist from the Center of Economics and Law Studies (Celios), Nailul Huda, views the ratification of International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 188 as providing justice for workers in the fishery sector.
“I appreciate President Prabowo Subianto’s step in ratifying ILO 188, which ensures that workers in the fishery sector receive justice and protection equivalent to those in other formal sectors,” Huda stated when contacted by ANTARA in Jakarta on Friday.
He explained that ILO 188 provides certainty for fishery workers by regulating working hours, minimum rest periods, complaints mechanisms, and even contracts between crew members and vessel owners.
Indeed, there has long been a clear disparity between crew members and vessel owners, with worker exploitation being particularly evident in the fishery sector.
“With the clarity of contract status for crew members, I hope there will be an increase in fishermen’s household incomes. This income rise could certainly reduce poverty in rural/coastal areas,” Huda said.
However, he highlighted that supervision of crew protection in fisheries still needs to be strengthened, both at the central and regional levels.
In practice, coordination of supervision often faces obstacles, including differences in understanding of authorities, limited regional capacity, and uneven comprehension of applicable regulations. This situation has the potential to make crew members the most affected party.
In addition to supervision aspects, a fairer profit-sharing scheme is also seen as needing attention. If the profit distribution mechanism can be monitored more transparently and fairly, crew incomes have the potential to increase significantly.
This ratification is also hoped not to be linked only to the fishermen’s village programme. Huda stated that regulatory certainty and labour protection are needed by all fishery crew members, not limited to those in specific areas or programmes.
As a note, Prabowo in his speech on International Labour Day (May Day) in Jakarta on Friday conveyed that he had signed Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 25 of 2026 on the Ratification of ILO 188 to ensure the protection and welfare of fishermen in Indonesia.
The Perpres aims to strengthen legal protection and the welfare of fishery vessel crew (ABK), while ensuring decent working conditions in line with international standards.