Indonesia
Fishing Platforms:
A case of hazardous child labour
Excerpt from Child Labour in Asia: Some Perspectives on Selected Countries (AusAID)
Off shore fish traps, known as jermals, are an extremely dangerous and exploitative work environment in which children are employed. The situation of boys on jermals off the east coast of North Sumatra was publicised by local NGOs and media, leading to a study commissioned by ILO/IPEC in 1995.
Jermals are usually constructed 7-8 kilometres out to sea. Platforms built over the traps accommodate men and boys working on the catch. Most boys are aged between 13 and 15, recruited by illegal agents from poor farming families. They are required to remain at sea for three months at a time, and if a replacement is not found they may be forced to stay longer. Boys receive about Rp 120,000 ($75) at the end of three months.
Working and living conditions are poor and hazardous. Food and water are inadequate, the hours long and without respite. Minor accidents and illnesses are common, with no access to medical care. Because most of the children cannot swim, drowning is a constant danger.
Two NGOs have recently begun work to support these boys.
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URGENT ACTION ON CHILD LABOUR
Most people recognise that it can be beneficial for children to gain some experience of the world of work before becoming adults, but there can be no excuse for the degree of exploitation we witness today. Often a small shift in the priorities of the governments concerned could end the worst abuses at a stroke.
With this objective firmly in mind, Anti-Slavery International has launched the Urgent Action on Child Labour campaign to end these acute cases of child exploitation by the year 2000....
... children are stranded 5 miles off-shore working 3 month shifts catching and processing fish on wooden platforms raised just a few feet above the waves. There are at least 2000 such platforms off the coast of Sumatra. The children are abducted or duped into working in extremely hazardous conditions. There's no possibility of leaving in the event of illness or accident. Sexual and psychological abuse is common.
Social activists were first alerted to the severity of the problem in 1996 when the bodies of two boys aged 13 and 14 were washed ashore. They had slipped while pulling in the nets. The platforms are unregistered and illegal. The authorities have not acted to shut them down.
Source: Anti-Slavery International