The Fisheries Agency yesterday said it has made great strides in improving conditions for foreign fishers over the past two years, after the US Department of Labor on the previous day included Taiwan’s seafood exports on its List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor for the third time.
The agency said that over the past two years, the “Action Plan for Fisheries and Human Rights” has improved the situation for foreign fishers.
The list is a public document put together by the US Bureau of International Labor Affairs to raise public awareness around labor issues and promote efforts to reduce them.
.Photo courtesy of Greenpeace Taiwan
This is the Taiwanese fishing industry’s third inclusion on the list.
The action plan was passed two years ago to improve labor and living conditions for foreign members of fishing crews.
The plan calls for raising the minimum wage, more reasonable working hours and schedules, higher insurance payouts, better ship hygiene and surveillance, and direct payments between employers and their crews, among other reforms.
The agency said it has hired 60 more inspectors and monitors more than half of the offshore vessels in domestic and foreign ports.
In the first half of this year, 98 percent of foreign crew members were paid in accordance with labor laws, the agency said.
In February, the agency hosted US labor department officials to demonstrate how the human rights situation has improved and met with relevant authorities, industry experts and civil groups.
The US officials indicated that Taiwan’s exclusion from the list would require multiple independent sources and objective information, the agency said.
The agency said it would continue to implement the action plan, and called on the industry to improve working conditions, protect the rights of fishers and fulfill their social responsibilities.
Taiwan yesterday expelled four China Coast Guard vessels that entered Taiwan-controlled restricted waters off Lienchiang County (Matsu) shortly after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced the start of its “Joint Sword-2024B” drills around Taiwan. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a statement that it had detected two China Coast Guard ships west of Nangan Island (南竿) and another two north of Dongyin Island (東引) at 8am yesterday. After Chinese ships sailed into restricted waters off Matsu shortly afterward, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch deployed four patrol vessels to shadow and approach the vessels, it said. The incidents pushed up to 44 the number
Renovations on the B3 concourse of Taipei Main Station are to begin on Nov. 1, with travelers advised to use entrances near the Taiwan Railway or high-speed rail platforms or information counter to access the MRT’s Red Line. Construction is to be completed before the end of next year, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said last week. To reduce the impact on travelers, the NT$95 million (US$2.95 million) project is to be completed in four stages, it said. In the first stage, the hall leading to the Blue Line near the art exhibition area is to be closed from Nov. 1 to the end
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
The government has issued a deportation order for a Spanish fugitive, ordering him to leave the country within 10 days, as he is wanted by European authorities for allegedly operating a car rental scam. National Immigration Agency (NIA) officials yesterday said Salvador Alejandro Llinas Onate, 48, had been notified that he must leave Taiwan, as he was wanted for committing serious crimes. The Spaniard has been indicted by Italian prosecutors for allegedly leading a 30 million euros (US$32.74 million) car rental scam and setting up a fraudulent company in Trento, Italy. The deportation order is based on Article 18 of
RSS