End abuse of foreign fishing workers! NGOs form the Foreign Fishing Worker Human Rights Alliance, calling for the abolition of overseas employment
On August 25, 2015, the body of Indonesian fishing worker Supriyanto was sent back to the port in Taiwan, and the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office closed the case administratively on the grounds of "death from septicemia." "But there were a great many wounds on the body, suspected of long-term abuse, and the case is still under investigation by the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office," pointed out Chuang Shu-ching of the Taiwan International Workers' Association. Deep-sea operations are prone to abuse, unlawful deduction of wages and other forms of long-term exploitation, and the above case is merely an entry point: "Abuse cases are not isolated incidents as the Fisheries Agency claims, but occur very frequently and continuously."
The Yilan County Fishing Workers' Occupational Union, the Seafarers' and Fishermen's Service Center of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Peace Foundation, the Taiwan International Workers' Association, the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, the Taoyuan City Mass Service Association, Greenpeace and the Environmental Justice Foundation formed the "Foreign Fishing Worker Human Rights Protection Alliance," which held a press conference on the 17th calling for the abolition of the overseas employment system, and for all foreign fishing workers to be brought under the Labor Standards Act and managed by the Ministry of Labor.
Foreign Fishing Worker Human Rights Protection Alliance: abolish overseas employment, bring workers under Labor Standards Act management
Faced with the infringement of foreign fishing workers' rights, Shih Yi-hsiang, deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, pointed out bluntly that in recent years there have been a great many cases of foreign fishing workers dying at sea, all of which are still under investigation, and so far there have been no satisfactory results. In the brokerage system, Taiwan's system and the division of labor among various ministries and agencies, the human rights oppression faced by foreign fishing workers is repeatedly laid bare.
The Foreign Fishing Worker Human Rights Protection Alliance put forward its demands, hoping to abolish overseas employment, bring all foreign fishing workers in Taiwan under the protection of the Labor Standards Act, have all foreign fishing workers, whether on deep-sea or coastal vessels, managed uniformly by the Ministry of Labor, and devote sufficient resources to increasing the frequency and accuracy of labor inspections on coastal and deep-sea fishing boats.
"The Fisheries Agency cannot grasp the actual number of overseas-employed fishing workers." Chuang Shu-ching pointed out that according to an investigation by Indonesian media, the number of Indonesians going to Taiwan to work as foreign fishing workers alone very likely exceeds 40,000; and with regard to the low wages of overseas-employed foreign fishing workers, the Fisheries Agency has not carried out inspections. "The Fisheries Agency keeps saying it has no funding or manpower, and we believe the Fisheries Agency also lacks expertise in labor management, so whether deep-sea or coastal fishing workers, they should all be placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labor."
With the captain standing right there, how can fishing workers tell the truth?
Chuang further explained that the government currently does not have enough labor inspectors, and manpower should be increased; next, inspections must be carried out on board vessels regularly, and in the counties and cities with the most coastal fishing boats, such as Yilan and Kaohsiung, there should be dedicated labor inspectors who board vessels for inspection once every one or two weeks; and the crew roster of every fishing boat must be kept track of, so that a tracking effect can be achieved.
In addition, Taiwan should also proactively sign the International Labour Organization's Work in Fishing Convention (ILO C 188) and domesticate it into law. Chiu Shao-chi, Taiwan ocean project director of the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), explained that with regard to working hours, Convention 188 addresses the number of working hours per week, whereas overseas employment is calculated per month, making it easy to exceed seven days of work. On wages, Convention 188 also stipulates at least 614 US dollars, whereas overseas employment is 450 US dollars.
Li Yi-chiao, head of Greenpeace's ocean project, pointed out that Convention 188 further regulates health checks for fishing workers, clearly specifying the content of those checks, and on the whole can also ensure that labor inspections, health checks, working hours and wages are all above average. At present, Norway, Morocco, Argentina, Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Congo, Estonia, France, Latvia and South Africa have all adopted it; the European Union has further expressed that it will follow suit and requires all member states to adopt it; Thailand is expected to adopt it by the end of this year at the earliest.
The Fisheries Agency has cited cases of interviewing fishing workers, "but when the workers are interviewed, the captain is watching right there; if I were a fishing worker, I wouldn't tell the real situation either." Li Yi-chiao said that although the Regulations on the Permit and Management of the Overseas Employment of Crew Members of Non-ROC Nationality contain relevant provisions and set out penalties, "in practice none of it has been carried out. The problem with the Fisheries Agency now is that the regulations are all there, but what exactly is enforcement in practice? The Fisheries Agency has not investigated. Is this law now enacted for the international community to see? Or is there actual enforcement? There is a gap."
Fisheries Agency: cooperating with the Ministry of Labor on labor inspections to enhance rights protection
In response to the various doubts from outside, Lin Kuo-ping, deputy director-general of the Fisheries Agency, replied that there are currently fisheries inspectors at foreign ports, and when domestic deep-sea vessels return, interview questionnaires are also conducted with foreign fishing workers; as for disputes over the methods, these will be discussed further, such as taking the crew members to be interviewed indoors, separated from the captain, so that the fishing workers can tell the real situation.
Lin said that the Regulations on the Permit and Management of the Overseas Employment of Crew Members of Non-ROC Nationality were only passed last year, and this year interviews with fishing workers began, cooperating with the Ministry of Labor on labor inspections to check wages, working hours and other conditions. So far there have been no cases of fines imposed, but some cases are in progress and are being further verified.
As for placing foreign fishing workers under the unified management of the Ministry of Labor, Lin explained that deep-sea fishing boats are far from home and operate at sea, making management relatively difficult. At present they are managed under the Regulations on the Permit and Management of the Overseas Employment of Crew Members of Non-ROC Nationality, and in the future, when management conditions mature, they will be aligned with the Labor Standards Act. For now, they can only first set out basic conditions and regulations, and then work to raise the standard.
The Fisheries Agency further explained that the current management regulations have already enhanced various rights protections, including wages and working hours, such as a monthly minimum wage of 450 US dollars, at least 10 hours of rest per day for crew members, and at least 4 days of rest per month; boat owners are required to insure crew members against personal accident, medical treatment and general death; the general death insurance amount shall not be less than 1 million New Taiwan dollars; and if a crew member suffers accidental injury or illness in the course of duty, the boat owner shall promptly arrange treatment at the nearest suitable location and bear medical and other expenses.