Members of the Taiwan International Workers’ Association protested in front of the Ministry of Labor in Taipei on Tuesday, demanding that fishery workers hired overseas be protected by the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).
The act protects basic human rights, payments and other benefits including paid leave.
The association said that Taiwan, which operates the largest fleet of deep-sea fishing boats in the world, hires 14,627 foreign fishery workers who contribute to annual output worth NT$40 billion (US$1.27 billion).
Photo: Wu Po-wei, Taipei Times
As many as 90 percent of the workers are recruited from Southeast Asian nations, with a majority of them listed as “overseas hires,” which disqualifies them from protection by the act, the association said.
There have been instances in which workers not protected by the act have been abused, in some case even leading to fatalities, it said.
Although the Fisheries Agency has done its best to ensure the interests of foreign workers, it has no power to protect their basic human rights, which is in the Ministry of Labor’s jurisdiction, the association said.
The association, a non-governmental organization that promotes foreign workers’ interests, also said that a provision in the act is used by employers to accuse foreign workers of leaving their jobs without permission.
Article 56 of the act has often been used by employers to inform the authorities that such personnel have “fled” their place of employment, when in fact they are involved in a labor dispute with the employer.
Once reported, foreign workers are placed on a list, which prevents them from receiving legal protection, the association said.
It called on the government to amend Article 56, which makes it easy for employers to claim a foreign worker has “fled” from work, but extremely difficult for workers to have their names removed from the list.
The ministry said that fishery workers on Taiwanese fishing boats have not entered the nation and therefore do not qualify for protections stipulated in the act.
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