(10/5/2012)
The State News Agency Antara reports that Indonesian ships’ crews often fall victim to exploitation via the high fees required by The Company for the Placement of Private Indonesian Worker (PPTKIS).
“The fees can be as high as Rp. 40 million to Rp.50 million (US$4,200 – US$5,265). But, in fact, the actual cost is nothing like that,” explained the national president of the Indonesian Seamen’s Association (KPI), Hanafi Rustandi, speaking in Bali on Wednesday, October 3, 2012.
Speaking at a seminar on the international Welfare of Seamen and Fishermen in Southeast Asia, Hanafi said this state of affairs has been a long-standing situation giving the impression around the world that Bali is a heaven for job brokers preying on those seeking for onboard positions. “We have to lose this negative image,” he said.
Hanafi called on the provincial government of Bali to stop these practices by issuing a decree that is harmony with the contents of the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) of 2006, soon to become an international requirement.
The internationally binding MLC 2006 specifically outlaws any fees and levies in connection with the recruitment and placement of seamen. In those instances when payments do occur, those payments must be transparent and backed up by a local government decree.
“To date, the fees charged by recruitment agencies are never handled in a transparent manner. Candidate seaman who are charged “training fees” seldom receive receipts and the training provided is cursory,” Hanafi complained.
© Bali
Discovery Tours. Articles may be quoted and reproduced
if attributed to http://www.balidiscovery.com.
