RI seamen victims of abuse: ITF

JAKARTA: An international labor activist urged the Indonesian authorities to closely monitor fishing ships operating in the Indonesian waters amid alleged human rights abuse against Indonesian seamen.

Shigeru Wada of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) said in a seminar here on Thursday that the organization had recorded a number of cases of human rights abuses on board local and foreign ships employing Indonesian seamen.

"Several seamen were drowned at sea after clashing with fellow workers over the last few years. This is a serious issue. In addition, workers are required to work for more than 18 hours a day and are underpaid, despite ILO conventions on core labor standards," he said.

The seminar which was also attended by fishing ship owners and captains, was held to seek legal and insurance protection for seamen.

Petersand Mortensen of ITF headquarters in London said ITF and the Indonesian Seafarers Association (KPI) would start disseminating information on ILO conventions and relevant laws among ship owners and captains to help provide protection for Indonesian seamen. -- JP