TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A group of Indonesian migrant fishermen filed a lawsuit against the American company named Bumble Bee Foods for alleged forced labor and human trafficking on Wednesday, March 12, 2025.

Greenpeace Indonesia and the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union believe this lawsuit is the first against the U.S. seafood industry under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA).

"This is a historic moment for the struggle to enforce justice for vulnerable Indonesian migrant fishery workers within the global fishing supply chain," said Fildza Nabila Avianti, the Sea Campaigner for Greenpeace Indonesia, in an official statement on Thursday, March 13, 2025.

The lawsuit is based on allegations of forced labor experienced by the plaintiffs while working on tuna fishing vessels whose catch is sold by Bumble Bee Foods. The plaintiffs allegedly suffered physical and emotional abuse, untreated severe injuries resulting in disabilities, debt bondage, excessive working hours and unpaid wages, and financial threats to the victims' families.

According to records from Greenpeace Indonesia and the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union, Bumble Bee Foods' parent company in the U.S., Bumble Bee Seafoods, owned by one of the world's leading tuna traders, the Taiwan-based company Fong Chun Formosa (FCF), generates an annual income of US$1 billion. However, the Indonesian migrant fishermen were promised a monthly salary of only US$400 to 600, often facing substantial wage deductions and unpaid wages.

In this lawsuit, Bumble Bee Foods had or should have known the conditions of the migrant fishers. "Yet, they consciously benefited from forced labor and human trafficking practices."

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union has received and handled 943 complaints from migrant fishery workers between 2010 and 2024. In 2024, 196 cases were reported, with the main issues including alleged forced labor and human trafficking such as withheld or unpaid wages, debt bondage, violence, work not under the contract, canceled departures, and unilateral termination of employment.

Based on the existing reports, the violence was experienced by migrant fishery workers from before their departure, during their work on the vessels, until their return to Indonesia.

Exploitative recruitment practices are strongly suspected to be at the root of this key problem. Additionally, high and non-transparent costs, inhumane accommodation practices, deception through tempting promises, fraud, and falsification of documents. "All leading to various forms of physical, labor, and economic exploitation," said the Chairperson of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union, Hariyanto Suwarno.

According to Hariyanto, the exploitation experienced by these migrant fishery workers often lasts for months or even years. He also highlights the importance of holding accountable the parties suspected of profiting from inhumane actions that sacrifice the human rights of migrant fishery workers.

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