The Ministry of Agriculture’s Fisheries Agency on Sunday reiterated its commitment to protecting the rights of migrant workers on distant-water fishing boats, following reports of alleged labor abuse and deaths.
CNN reported on Saturday that an Indonesian migrant fisher, Silwanus Tangkotta, had his fingers crushed by a metal door last year while working on a Taiwanese fishing boat that was in a remote area in the Pacific.
His captain allegedly denied his request to return to port for medical help, as he was unsatisfied with the fish catch, CNN reported.
Photo: CNA
Tangkotta had to use toothpicks to pull out bone fragments himself to prevent infection, it said, adding that he was hospitalized a month later and had permanently lost some phalanges.
He was fired immediately and was denied compensation, “because his position had ended,” CNN said.
Another former Indonesian migrant fisher, Adrian Dogdodo Basar, had a similar experience.
CNN cited Basar as saying that one of his friends died while on Vanuatuan boat Long Bow No.7, the operations of which were funded by Taiwanese, out in the Pacific in 2023, after their captain allegedly refused to return to port despite his friend being seriously ill.
“When I started protesting, I was not given any food,” Basar was quoted as saying.
Overwork and delayed wages were also part of what CNN described as a “pattern of abuse” in Taiwan’s distant-water fishing industry.
Ten Indonesian migrant fishers working on the vessel You Fu (銪富號) were owed 15 months of wages in 2023, CNN said.
It also cited Yilan Migrant Fishermen Union secretary-general Allison Lee (李麗華) as saying that some migrant workers were told they would be working in a crew of 10 people, but only four were on board, so they had to work extremely long hours.
“The government responded with rhetoric, but very little was changed,” she was quoted as saying.
The agency on Sunday said that Taiwan had a zero-tolerance policy toward any form of labor exploitation, as it is a country that values freedom, democracy and human rights.
Regarding Tangkotta’s case, the agency said his captain had immediately administered emergency treatment, including bandaging his fingers and giving him anti-inflammatory painkillers, and allowed him to rest while their vessel was out at sea.
The captain reported Tangkotta’s condition to the agency for evaluation by an onshore doctor, who said that there was no immediate danger to the fisher’s life, it said.
The captain continued to care for Tangkotta based on the doctor’s recommendations until another boat to take the fisher back to port was dispatched by the shipowner, the agency said, adding that he was immediately brought to a hospital upon his arrival.
“Unfortunately, the insurance company determined that his injury was not eligible for compensation, as it did not result in a disability,” it said.
The agency added that it would investigate the insurance company’s decision and whether the employer improperly terminated Tangkotta’s contract.
Regarding the death of Basar’s friend, the agency said the captain had reported the issue to Vanuatuan authorities and informed the fisher’s family of his death immediately after he passed away.
His compensation application and body repatriation were handled by the labor intermediary and the Fijian agency, it said.
A Fijian medical institution said the fisher had died from acute pulmonary edema, the agency said, adding that his body has been returned to his family in Indonesia.
As for the delayed wages for migrant fishers on the You Fu, the agency said that when they found out about the situation on July 22 last year, they immediately took action.
It said it coordinated with the business operator, the labor intermediary and other parties involved, and referred the cases of alleged abuse to law enforcement authorities for further investigation.
All the crew members received their wages by Aug. 8 last year, the agency said.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS