Global environmental campaigning network Greenpeace held a rally in front of the Fisheries Agency in downtown Taipei on Friday to demand better pay and labor conditions for distant seas migrant fishermen working on Taiwan-owned boats.
Members and supporters of Greenpeace placed white flowers on top of a makeshift coffin next to a replica boat cabin that was painted with large “SOS” lettering in front of the Fisheries Agency’s building, to highlight the fishermen’s plight.
According to Yuton Lee (???), oceans campaigner from Greenpeace East Asia’s Taipei Office, distant seas migrant fishermen are discriminated against because they do not receive the same pay as coastal and offshore fishermen.
According to Fisheries Agency data, Taiwan’s distant-water fishing (DWF) fleet employs nearly 20,000 migrant fishermen, mostly from Indonesia and the Philippines, with an additional 10,000 migrant fishermen employed in coastal and offshore fishing.
However, unlike fishermen employed in coastal and offshore fishing, the minimum monthly wage for migrant fishermen on DWF vessels is only US$450 — nearly half the NT$25,250 (US$873.15) minimum for workers covered under Taiwan’s Labor Standards Act, which does not currently cover migrant fishermen.
Furthermore, migrant fishermen on DWF vessels are not fully entitled to the rights protected by international conventions, and measures to prevent forced labor on fishing vessels are inadequate, according to Lee.
In addition, Taiwanese vessels flying under a flag of convenience are often exempted from labor inspection, and such inspections do not have institutionalized risk assessments and lack diverse reward and punishment procedures, Lee said.
Lee’s claims have been backed by many groups in recent years, several pointing out that distant water migrant fishermen are often exploited by the Taiwanese owners of vessels.
An example Greenpeace cited involved the Taiwanese fishing vessel, Da Wang, which the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced on Jan. 28 had used forced labor. An investigation uncovered evidence of all 11 indicators developed by the International Labor Organization to assess forced labor conditions aboard fishing vessels.
The 11 indicators are abuse of vulnerability, deception, restriction of movement, isolation, physical and sexual violence, intimidation and threats, retention of identity documents, withholding of wages, debt bondage, abusive working and living conditions, and excessive overtime.
However, Taiwan’s Fisheries Agencies did not announce it would revoke the Taiwanese owner’s rights to operate the vessel until Jan. 29, a day after the CPB made its announcement, even though Greenpeace published reports of alleged abuse and a death on the ship in 2019.
In a testimony cited in the report, a former crew worker stated, “When the Fishing Master was angry, he hit my friend’s head near his left ear. After that he was forced to continue working until the work was finished and only then was he allowed to rest. In the morning when we woke up for breakfast, we found him dead in his room.”
Concerns over the lack of protections afforded migrant fishermen reached a point where the U.S. government classified fish caught by Taiwan-flagged vessels as products of forced labor in 2020.
In response to the Greenpeace rally, the Fisheries Agency issued a statement saying that the government has been making efforts to protect the rights and interests of foreign crews on Taiwanese DWF vessels and implemented specifications contained in international conventions by amending relevant laws and regulations and increasing inspection coverage.
Regarding the difference in salary, the Fisheries Agency said a difference in salary between migrant fishermen on DWF vessels and coastal fishing boats exists in many developing countries.
Meanwhile, current laws state that no service fee shall be charged for migrant fishermen on distant fishing vessels and operators shall bear the expense of food and accommodation, while migrant fishermen working in coastal and offshore fishing are often charged a service fee by their brokers, the Fisheries Agency said.
Nevertheless, a salary review and adjustment mechanism will be established to gradually increase DWF’s salary, the Fisheries Agency said.
Other NGOs have said that despite not being a party to the Work in Fishing Convention (ILO-C188), Taiwan has already voluntarily incorporated specifications in ILO-C188 into relevant domestic laws and regulations to protect fishing crews’ rights and interest.
The Regulations on the Authorization and Management of Overseas Employment of Foreign Crew Members were amended in 2021 to require a daily minimum of 10 hours rest and weekly minimum of 77 hours rest, the Fisheries Agency said.
As for the demand to increase inspections, the Fisheries Agency said the Executive Yuan has agreed to increase the agency’s manpower and after the resources are in place Taiwanese fishing vessels will be inspected more frequently, at least once every two years, which will be one of the highest levels worldwide.
Furthermore, joint inspections will also be carried out on Taiwanese invested fishing vessels flying a foreign flag, the Fisheries Agency said.
The agency also pointed out that it has raised its presence in Taiwan’s fishing ports since last year with personnel informing migrant fishermen of their rights in addition to assisting NGOs deal with appeals.
Kaohsiung-based Stella Maris Chaplin Father AnsensiusGuntur, CS, from Indonesia, told CNA the Fisheries Agency helped him with 97 appeals last year, with most successfully resolved within two weeks.
According to Guntur, a recurring issue is the illegal deduction of so-called “contract insurance” from salaries.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel