By Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter
The Fisheries Agency has failed to implement new labor rules to protect foreign fishing boat workers hired outside the nation’s borders, rights advocates said yesterday, calling for stricter regulation and the transfer of jurisdiction to the Ministry of Labor.
About a dozen protesters from the Taiwan International Workers’ Association, Yilan Migrant Fishermen Union and other groups boycotted an agency meeting on the implementation of new regulations and instead staged a protest outside the agency, shouting slogans and accusing it of continuing to allow the exploitation of foreign fishery workers.
There has been a substantial push to reform regulation of the nation’s fisheries after the European Commission in 2015 gave the nation a “yellow card” for failing to cooperate in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, with the Act for Distant Water Fisheries (遠洋漁業條例), 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修正) and new amendments to the Fisheries Act (漁業法) coming into effect in January.
New rules mandating a minimum monthly wage of US$450, four days off per month and 10 hours of rest per day for migrant fishermen working on Taiwanese vessels in international waters were also promulgated simultaneously by the agency after receiving a “corrective measure” from the Control Yuan for ignoring labor rights.
“The problem is that the agency does not have the ability or personnel to enforce the new regulations,” Taiwan International Workers’ Association member Chuang Shu-ching (莊舒晴) said. “More than six months have passed, but there has not been any labor inspection and there is still no channel available for workers to report violations.”
She said the jurisdiction for enforcing regulations should be transferred to the Ministry of Labor, adding that migrant fishermen working on Taiwanese vessels in international waters should also be granted the rights and protection stated in the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).
Currently only migrant fishermen based domestically and fishing in national waters are covered by the labor act.
“Our stance is Taiwanese-flagged vessels should be viewed as extensions of the nation’s territory and subject to the same labor rules applied domestically, regardless of where workers are hired,” Taiwan Association for Human Rights vice secretary-general Shih Yi-hsiang (施逸翔) said.
Fisheries Agency Deputy Director-General Huang Hung-yan (黃鴻燕) said the agency was still in process of drafting enforcement plans, with plans to base more officials in international ports to enforce regulations.
The agency only has two officials based in international ports, but it hopes to receive assistance from the labor ministry to conduct labor inspections, Huang said.
He declined to comment on the groups’ demands that responsibility for enforcement be fully transferred to the ministry.
“We have gradually started to implement” the new rules, he said, citing the registration of numerous labor agencies to hire workers following the new rules banning direct hiring by individuals and challenging the protesters to present evidence of cases of migrant workers’ rights being violated.
“We do not have investigative powers — that is the responsibility of the agency,” Yilan Migrant Fishermen Union secretary-general Allison Lee (李麗華) said, adding that regulations restricting migrant fishermen hired outside the nation’s borders from landing at national ports made it difficult to investigate.
The Fisheries Agency has failed to implement new labor rules to protect foreign fishing boat workers hired outside the nation’s borders, rights advocates said yesterday, calling for stricter regulation and the transfer of jurisdiction to the Ministry of Labor.
By Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter The Fisheries Agency has failed to implement new labor rules to protect foreign fishing boat workers hired outside the nation’s borders rights advocates said yesterday calling for stricter regulation and the transfer of jurisdiction to the Ministry of Labor About a dozen protesters from the Taiwan International Workers’ Association Yilan Migrant Fishermen Union and other groups boycotted an agency meeting on the implementation of new regulations and instead staged a protest outside the agency shouting slogans and accusing it of continuing to allow the exploitation of foreign fishery workers There has been a substantial push to reform regulation of the nation’s fisheries after the European Commission in 2015 gave the nation a yellow card for failing to cooperate in combating illegal unreported and unregulated fishing with the Act for Distant Water Fisheries 遠洋 漁業 條例 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 修正 and new amendments to the Fisheries Act 漁業 法 coming into effect in January New rules mandating a minimum monthly wage of US$450 four days off per month and 10 hours of rest per day for migrant fishermen working on Taiwanese vessels in international waters were also promulgated simultaneously by the agency after receiving a corrective measure from the Control Yuan for ignoring labor rights The problem is that the agency does not have the ability or personnel to enforce the new regulations Taiwan International Workers’ Association member Chuang Shu-ching 莊 舒 晴 said More than six months have passed but there has not been any labor inspection and there is still no channel available for workers to report violations She said the jurisdiction for enforcing regulations should be transferred to the Ministry of Labor adding that migrant fishermen working on Taiwanese vessels in international waters should also be granted the rights and protection stated in the Labor Standards Act 勞動 基準法 Currently only migrant fishermen based domestically and fishing in national waters are covered by the labor act Our stance is Taiwanese-flagged vessels should be viewed as extensions of the nation’s territory and subject to the same labor rules applied domestically regardless of where workers are hired Taiwan Association for Human Rights vice secretary-general Shih Yi-hsiang 施逸翔 said Fisheries Agency Deputy Director-General Huang Hung-yan 黃鴻燕 said the agency was still in process of drafting enforcement plans with plans to base more officials in international ports to enforce regulations The agency only has two officials based in international ports but it hopes to receive assistance from the labor ministry to conduct labor inspections Huang said He declined to comment on the groups’ demands that responsibility for enforcement be fully transferred to the ministry We have gradually started to implement the new rules he said citing the registration of numerous labor agencies to hire workers following the new rules banning direct hiring by individuals and challenging the protesters to present evidence of cases of migrant workers’ rights being violated We do not have investigative powers that is the responsibility of the agency Yilan Migrant Fishermen Union secretary-general Allison Lee 李麗華 said adding that regulations restricting migrant fishermen hired outside the nation’s borders from landing at national ports made it difficult to investigate