The Foreign Fishers Human Rights Protection Alliance has urged the government to give migrant fishers the same rights and protections as local laborers, and to end the exploitation of migrant workers.
The Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) should be amended to include migrant fishers, while the Act to Govern Investment in the Operation of Foreign Flag Fishing Vessels (投資經營非我國籍漁船管理條例) should be updated to include regulations on minimum wage, work hours, transparency of information for ships flying flags of convenience, clear-cut rules on ship owners’ responsibilities and government oversight, the alliance said on Wednesday last week.
It also called for laws that represent the spirit of the International Labor Organization’s Work in Fishing Convention, to provide a legal basis for rules regulating the hiring of migrant workers and the operation of fishing vessels flying foreign flags, and to provide more transparency and establish suitable channels for migrant fishers to lodge complaints.
According to Forced Labor at Sea: The case of Indonesian Migrant Fishers, a report released by Greenpeace Southeast Asia on May 21, workers on five Taiwanese ships — the Da Wang (大旺), Solar No. 101 (魷達101號), Yu Feng No. 67 (裕豐67號), Yu Feng No. 202 (裕豐67號) and the Chun I No. 217 (春億217號) — accused the companies running the vessels of withholding wages and travel documents, and subjecting fishers to abusive working and living standards.
The Da Wang was in 2019 accused of employing forced labor and physical violence, leading to the death of an Indonesian fisher, and last year US Customs and Border Protection temporarily detained the ship for overworking fishers, Greenpeace Southeast Asia said.
Greenpeace Taipei maritime task force director Lee Yu-tung (李于彤) said that it was difficult to believe that Yong Feng Fishery, the owner of Da Wang, was sincere about improving conditions, when it was attempting to blame the death of a migrant fisher on a misunderstanding.
Lee said the government should investigate the incident to prevent more deaths.
The Fisheries Agency said that it has drafted a fishery industry and human rights plan to address complaints of overwork and other abuses in the industry.
The plan aims to step up the management of fishing vessels operating under foreign flags, deepen international collaboration, enforce labor standards and timely payment of wages, and improve ship and dockside facilities, the agency said.
Taiwan was added to the US Department of Labor’s “List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor” on Sept. 30 last year.
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