‘They make a business out of desperate people’: The role of recruitment agents in cross-border labour chains

Christina Stringer, Ani Kartikasari and Snejina Michailova
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Christina Stringer: Department of Management and International Business, University of Auckland Business School, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Ani Kartikasari: Department of Global Value Chains and Trade, Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce, Lincoln University, Lincoln, New Zealand
Snejina Michailova: Department of Management and International Business, University of Auckland Business School, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Australian Journal of Management, 2021, vol. 46, issue 4, 672-689

Abstract: This article examines the role recruitment agents play in the complex web of forced labour. Our focus is the abusive treatment of Indonesian crew onboard South Korean factory trawlers fishing in New Zealand’s waters. We gathered data from multiple sources: (1) documents, including Indonesia’s national legislation and migrants’ employment contracts; (2) 27 interviews with Indonesian crew; and (3) translation work for New Zealand government ministries, court cases, and film productions. We analyse how recruitment agents are implicated, as seen through the crew’s eyes, in three phases – before departure, onboard the vessels, and following their return home. JEL Classification: J81, F55, F66

Keywords: Fishing; forced labour; global value chains; migrants; recruitment agents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:ausman:v:46:y:2021:i:4:p:672-689

DOI: 10.1177/0312896220986895

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