New version of regulations further protects the rights of foreign fishermen in Taiwan

To protect the labor rights & human rights of foreign fishermen in Taiwan, Fisheries Agency, Council of Agriculture (行政院農業委員會漁業署) mentioned that the “Fisheries and Human Rights Action Plan (漁業與人權行動計畫)” and its accompanying laws that are being amended – “Regulations on the Authorization and Management of Overseas Employment of Foreign Crew Members” are expected to be passed and take effect in the first half of 2022.

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New version of regulations will take effect in the first half of 2022. (Photo / Retrieved from Pixabay)

Lin Ding Rong (林頂榮), the Director of Fisheries Division, mentioned that there has been a problem of “Withholding fishermen's wages”. After investigation, it was found that overseas human resources recruitment agencies often withhold fishermen's wages. This is because foreign crew members’ salary is passed through human resources recruitment agencies in Taiwan and their home countries, and then paid to foreign fishermen.

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With the new version of laws, overseas human resources recruitment agencies are banned from handling fishermen’s salaries. (Photo / Retrieved from Pixabay)

With the new version of laws, overseas human resources recruitment agencies are banned from handling fishermen’s salaries. Moreover, foreign fishermen’s Labor contracts must clearly state the amount of salary, way of transferring salary, insurance types and amount, etc., and be sent to the competent authority for future reference to prevent fishermen from signing unfair contracts.