Taiwan fishing vessel Fu Shen No. 11 detained in South Africa, accused of poor labor conditions
"Face up to regulatory loopholes and put an end to human trafficking!" The "Foreign Fishermen's Human Rights Protection Alliance" held a press conference today (the 25th) in front of the Civil Service Development Institute, where the "International Workshop on Combating Human Trafficking" was being held, to protest against Taiwan's repeated outbreaks of abuse of fishermen, withholding of wages, and poor labor conditions.
The "Foreign Fishermen's Human Rights Protection Alliance" stated that the government has long ignored the exploitation of labor rights in the distant-water fishing industry, yet it is holding an international seminar to discuss how to put an end to human trafficking, which is highly ironic. It demanded that the government carry out institutional reform, abolish overseas employment, bring all foreign fishermen, whether in distant-water or coastal fishing, under the protection of the Labor Standards Act, and at the same time sign the International Labour Organization's Work in Fishing Convention, as well as devote sufficient manpower to conducting labor inspections of fishing vessels and establish complaint channels for fishermen.
Fisheries Agency: Taiwan fishing vessels have not broken the law
In response, Fisheries Agency Deputy Director-General Lin Guoping said that our distant-water fishing vessels entering the waters under the jurisdiction of another country must abide by that country's laws, but after confirming with our personnel at the office in South Africa, it was initially determined that the Taiwan fishing vessel was not involved in any illegal matters. As for why the vessel was detained by South Africa despite not having broken the law, Lin said that personnel had been sent to look into it and that communication was underway. However, Li Lihua believes that if we indeed have no violations, we should take the initiative to explain to the ILO and demand that the notice be removed, but the government has so far taken no action.
Does South Africa have the right to inspect foreign fishing vessels? Lin Guoping explained that under "port state control," when our fishing vessels pass through the coastal waters of another country, that country has the right to carry out inspections based on navigational considerations, and there is nothing unlawful about this.
As for whether offshore fishermen can also be brought under the protection of the Labor Standards Act, Lin said there are currently technical difficulties and more time is needed for communication, but stressed that safeguarding fishermen's rights has always been a goal that cross-ministerial efforts have continuously worked toward.
Notes:
The seven demands put forward by the "Foreign Fishermen's Human Rights Protection Alliance":
1. Abolish overseas employment, bring all foreign fishermen in Taiwan under the protection of the Labor Standards Act, and place foreign fishermen, regardless of whether they work in distant-water or coastal fishing, uniformly under the management of the Ministry of Labor.
2. Proactively sign the International Labour Organization's Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (ILO C 188), and domesticate it into national law.
3. Devote sufficient resources to increase the frequency and accuracy of labor inspections of coastal and distant-water fishing vessels, and if human trafficking cases are discovered, handle them promptly and punish them severely.
4. Increase the conviction and prosecution rates for human trafficking, and strengthen relevant education for judicial and law enforcement units.
5. Propose an effective complaint channel for fishermen (specifically emergency complaints during fishing vessel operations at sea).
6. Provide a timetable for the above five commitments.
7. Meet regularly with relevant NGOs to review the commitments and exchange views.