Taiwanese seafood products for the second consecutive time have been included in the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, published by the US Department of Labor on Wednesday.
This year’s report maintains the forced-labor designation that Taiwanese seafood first received in the previous edition in 2020.
Reports have been made of adults forced to work in Taiwan’s distant-water fishing fleet, which has more than 1,100 vessels in the world’s second-largest fleet, and employs an estimated 35,000 migrant workers, the report said.
The workers, mostly from Indonesia and the Philippines, are recruited by agencies that “sometimes deceive workers with false information regarding their wages and the terms of their contracts,” and require them to pay recruitment fees and sign debt contracts, it said.
The workers’ identity documents are often confiscated upon boarding, and they can spend months at sea without stopping at a port of call, working up to 22 hours per day, the report said.
Workers often “face hunger and dehydration, live in degrading and unhygienic conditions, and are subjected to physical violence or verbal abuse,” while being unable to leave the vessel or end their contracts, the report said, adding that many are not paid their promised wages, and have food and lodging fees illegally deducted, it said.
Greenpeace Taiwan said the listing would negatively affect Taiwan’s international reputation and its ability to export seafood products, due to a growing demand among consumers and retailers for ethically sourced seafood.
The Fisheries Agency said that after the 2020 report was published, it launched a four-year action plan for fisheries and human rights, with the goal of increasing workers’ salaries, improving labor conditions, better managing labor brokers and increasing government oversight.
Taiwan has also made several revisions to the Regulations on the Authorization and Management of Overseas Employment of Foreign Crew Members (境外僱用非我國籍船員許可及管理辦法), and has established a formal mechanism for reporting human and labor rights abuses, the agency said.
The revisions have raised the minimum monthly salary for workers on distant-water fishing vessels from US$450 to US$550, and require workers be covered by health insurance policies with minimum payouts of NT$300,000 (US$9,451) and life insurance policies worth NT$1.5 million, it said.
The agency earlier this month updated US officials on its efforts to improve conditions in the industry, it said.
While Taiwan’s inclusion in the latest report is “regrettable,” the agency strives to continue efforts to expand labor protections and be removed from the list as soon as possible, it added.
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