ILO’s Ship to Shore Rights Project in Songkla commits to decent work in Thai fishing and seafood sector

Press release | Bangkok, Thailand | 06 October 2017
Songkhla, Thailand (ILO news) - The International Labour Organization’s Ship to Shore Rights Project is organizing a meeting to promote decent work in the Thai fishing and seafood industry, on 6 October, in Songkhla, Thailand.

The ‘Tripartite-plus’ meeting, to be held at the BP Samila Beach Resort Hotel, also marks the World Day of Decent Work, on 7 October.

The tripartite social dialogue will bring together the Thai local government agencies, representatives from employers’ and workers’ organizations, and civil society to discuss the need for collective actions on:

  • migrant fisher recruitment issues, including broker issues;
  • the shift to electronic bank payments for workers in fishing vessels; and
  • improvement of health and safety for fishers
The EU-funded Ship to Shore Rights Project will also share the results of its baseline survey on working and living conditions in the fishing and seafood sector in Thailand.

According to the baseline survey, more workers have written contracts in 2017 than a few years ago, and child labour in fishing is rare, but there are some persistent abuses. For example, one third of workers in Thai fishing and seafood report being paid less than the minimum wage. One quarter of fishers report that some of their pay is withheld from them for months. And 52 per cent of fishers report that they take advances or loans against their pay from their employers, making them vulnerable to bonded labour.

Mr. Jason Judd, Programme Manager, Ship to Shore Rights Project said: “The need for Decent Work in Thai fishing and seafood is an urgent issue. A new order from the government in May 2017 requires the Ministry of Labour to detain fishing vessels that violate Thai labour law—including pay violations. Officials in a few ports have begun to use this power but the new effort needs momentum to make a dent in the problem.”

The ‘Tripartite-plus’ meeting is the fourth one taking place in Thailand. The previous meetings were held Chonburi, Phang-nga and Phuket. The attendees were from local government agencies, including the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, Department of Employment of the Ministry of Labour (MOL), Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, Port-in Port-out Center, and the Fish Marketing Organization. The employers’ organizations were representatives from Thai Tuna Industry Association (TTIA), local national fisheries association and vessels owners. Workers’ and NGOs representatives came from the Migrant Workers Rights Network (MRWN), State Enterprises Workers’ Relations Confederation (SERC), and Stella Maris Center, Songkhla.

The ILO Ship to Shore Rights Project is working closely with the Ministry of Labour, relevant agencies, civil society organizations, workers’ and employers’ organizations. It aims to reduce forced labour, child labour and other unacceptable form of work in Thai fishing and seafood sectors.

For further information, please contact:

Jason Judd 
Programme Manager
Ship to Shore Rights Project
ILO Thailand Country Office
judd@ilo.org
02 288 2107