{"id":92733,"date":"2022-03-22T10:38:22","date_gmt":"2022-03-22T05:08:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/?post_type=samudra&p=92733"},"modified":"2022-03-22T10:38:22","modified_gmt":"2022-03-22T05:08:22","slug":"a-level-playing-field","status":"publish","type":"samudra","link":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/samudra\/a-level-playing-field\/","title":{"rendered":"A Level Playing Field"},"content":{"rendered":"
Thailand \/ Labour Rights<\/strong><\/p>\n A Level Playing Field<\/strong><\/p>\n Fishers in Thailand have formed the Fishers Rights Network to collectively demand better wages and working conditions to prevent labour and human-rights abuses<\/strong><\/p>\n This article is by Jon Hartough<\/strong> (hartough_jon@itf.org.uk), Thailand Project Lead of the International Transport Workers\u2019 Federation (ITF) Fishers Rights Network(FRN)<\/p>\n Despite international pressure and government efforts to revise policy, Burmese and Cambodian migrant fishers in Thailand\u2019s seafood industry still face significant labour-rights abuses. While there have been some positive steps taken to improve conditions in the Thai fishing industry, such as Thailand\u2019s Draft Fisheries Act and the ratification of International Labour Organization (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention (C188), migrant fishers still face severe exploitation. Thailand ratified C188 in 2019, but effective implementation and enforcement remain major challenges to realizing structural reform that mitigates the significant problems remaining in the industry, both in Thailand and throughout the region.<\/p>\n … fishers are now recognizing they have the ability to reshape the industry and improve their future, if they organize to build power.<\/strong><\/p>\n Among the problems still facing migrant fishers in the Thai fishing industry are:<\/p>\n Poor health and safety conditions<\/strong>: Conditions on board vessels remain substandard. Fishers regularly report inadequate food and clean drinking water, poorly stocked and inaccessible first-aid kits, insufficient protective equipment, poor training, cramped sleeping quarters, the absence of toilets, and limited hours of rest that increase injuries and accidents on board vessels.<\/p>\n Financial exploitation<\/strong>: Many fishers report receiving wages significantly lower than the amount stated in their employment contracts, and, in most cases, wages are paid in cash rather than as monthly bank transfers as required by Thai law. Fishers continue to remain at high risk of debt bondage due to unlawful migration and high broker or document fees.<\/p>\n Document retention and movement restrictions<\/strong>: Fishers report that their passports, work permits, automated teller machine (ATM) cards, bank passbooks, and other important documents are often held by the boat captain or owner, and are not accessible. This restricts the movement of fishers and limits their ability to change vessels, access payments, freely transfer or remit earnings, and report abuse.<\/p>\n Ineffective implementation and enforcement of ILO C188<\/strong>: Despite ratification, significant gaps remain in the effective implementation and enforcement of C188. Thai law and labour inspections currently do not meet the standards outlined in the Convention.<\/p>\n However, despite these problems, fishers are now recognizing they have the ability to reshape the industry and improve their future, if they organize to build power. The International Transport Workers\u2019 Federation (ITF) has been assisting fishers in forming the Fishers Rights Network (FRN), the first and only independent and democratic trade union for migrant fishers in Thailand. Since its inception in 2018, the FRN has established organizing centres in three major Thai fishing ports, and organized over 3,000 migrant fishers. The main organizing centres are in Songkhla (in the \u2018Deep South\u2019), Ranong (on the Andaman Sea coast along the Myanmar border), and in Trat (eastern Thailand on the Cambodian border). These strategic locations have allowed the FRN to organize fishers as they enter the country and while they work on board fishing vessels.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n