NGOs Push for Migrant Fishers' Rights Following CNN Exposé

NGOs are making a fresh push to protect migrant fishers' rights after a CNN exposé about working conditions on Taiwan's distant-water fishing fleet.

Transcript

00:00Taiwan has the world's second-largest deep-sea fishing fleet.

00:03There's a good chance the seafood in your local supermarket was trawled by a Taiwan-flagged ship.

00:08But there are growing concerns about conditions on board for the largely Southeast Asian crews.

00:13The story of Indonesian fishing worker Silwanus Tankota, detailed in a CNN report,

00:18has caused a stir in Taiwan and led NGOs to gather outside the Labor Ministry.

00:23A human rights activist among them recounts what allegedly happened far out in the Pacific.

00:30In addition to an accident, the natives'

00:57The article also alleges a pattern of wage theft, abuse, and counts at least one preventable death.

01:16Critics of the article say it focused on a few cherry-picked cases.

01:20But activists say systemic failures and a lack of awareness among fishers themselves

01:24means, in their words, that this is just the tip of an iceberg.

01:28These NGOs have five demands.

01:56Foreign workers in Taiwan's fishing fleet must have the same legal protections as domestic workers.

02:02Wi-Fi must be mandatory, so crew can call for help.

02:05Inspections at sea are needed to check on the crew.

02:08And there's a government push for corporate due diligence

02:11and regular labor ministry meetings with activists to promote workers' rights.

02:15They put these demands into a symbolic gift package for the labor ministry to open and consider.

02:21A ministry rep accepts the package and has this to say.

02:26In response to Taiwan Plus, the fisheries agency said it has a, quote,

02:37zero-tolerance policy for labor exploitation.

02:40It added that a human rights action plan for fishers has been in place since 2022,

02:45and that it's addressing issues like withheld pay and promoting Wi-Fi access on board.

02:49But activists say problems persist in practice.

02:53Taiwan's fishing industry has appeared several times on the U.S. Labor Department's list of goods produced with forced labor.

02:59And just days ago, the EU sent delegates to call for Taiwan to put Wi-Fi on ships

03:04and sign agreements on workers' rights with countries like Indonesia and the Philippines,

03:09the home countries for most of the 20,000 crew members.

03:11Concerns about migrant fishery workers' rights go back years.

03:16NGOs hope the latest controversy will bring a push for real change.

03:20Hank Xu and John Van Trieste in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.