Employment and Working Conditions

g
from Southeast Asia in
of Migrants
the Fishing Sector
4th ABDIOECDILORoundtableonLabourMigration
g
28January2014,Tokyo
The views expressed in this presentation are the views of the author and do not
necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI),
the Asian Development Bank (ADB), its Board of Directors, or the governments they
represent. ADBI does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and
accepts no responsibility for any consequences of their use.
use Terminology used may not
necessarily be consistent with ADB official terms.

PREDOMINANTMIGRANT
FISHERSFLOWSFROM
SOUTHEASTASIA

Whatmakesworkinfishingunique?

Workingconditions:long,undefinedworking
g
g
g
hours;hazardouswork;paidaccordingtocatch;
paidirregularly;livingintheworkplace;isolated
worksite.
worksite
Application/enforcementofthelaw:labourlaws
pp
donotalwaysapply;limitedinspectionoraccessto
complaints;jurisdictionalchallenges;low
unionization
unionization.
4

Studyon
employment
andworking
conditionsin
Thailands
fishingsector

ProfileofRespondents
p
Nationality

Myanmar
Cambodian
Thai
Total

306
241
49
596

Giventhetotalnumberof
workersinfishingandthe
researchmethodology,the
findingscannotbesaidtobe
representativeofthesector
asawhole

Theinitialdecisiontoworkinfishing
g
Decisionbymyself
Iwasdeceivedorcoerced

Amongthe32respondents
whoweredeceivedorcoerced

96.9%
84%

16%
3.1%
Shorthaul

Longhaul

Iwasdeceived/coercedby
abrokerinmyvillage

17

Iwasdeceived/coercedby
abrokerinThailand

I wasforcedbymyparents
orfamilymembers

Haveyousignedalabourcontract?
Don't
Know
2.3%
%

No
93.8%

Yes
3.9%

Typicalresthours
<5hours
58hours
916hours
1724hours
Undefined

36.6%
12.8%
12.8%
0.8%
37.1%

Doyougetenoughrest?
No
26%
Yes
74%

Monthl age
Monthlywage

Meanwage:
THB6,483
,4 3
(USD210)
Theminimumwage
doesnotapplyto
fishing,butfor
comparison,the
minimumwageinthe
fourprovincesduring
th t d i d
thestudyperiodwas

betweenTHB246
300(USD810) per
day.

Wagedeductions

* i
*primarydeduction
d d ti

Nodeduction

57.9%

Deduction,butdonotknowdetails
Debtincurred/Wageadvance
Foodanddrinkingwater
Registrationcardmakingfee
Leavedays
Accommodation

18.3%
15.4%
5.4%
1.7%
0.8%
0.5%

Haveyoueverhadanaccidentthatcausedyouto
y
y
stopworkingorvisitahospital?

Yes,
20 6%
20.6%

No,
79.4%
Thai crew supervisor who lost his arm in a
winch, Samut Sakhon, 18 September 2012, ILO.

Isthefoodandwaterprovidedonboardsufficient
andcleanforconsumption?
No,
11.2%

Yes,
88.8%

DECEPTIVE
AND
COERCIVE
LABOUR
PRACTICES

Willingnesstowork bytimeatsea
Willingnesstowork,bytimeatsea
Short
haul
(%)

Long
g
haul
(%)

Total
T
t l
(%)

Forced*
d*
Deceivedaboutworking
conditions

12 0
12.0

12 3
12.3

12 0
12.0

3.3

12.3

4.9

Workingwillingly

84.7

75.5

83.1

*Wasforced,Soldbybrokertoboatowner,orForcedtoworktopay
debts

Menaceofpenalty
p
y
Penalty

Nopenalty(Workingwillingly)

83.1

Financialpenalty

12.1

Physicalviolenceorthreatofviolence

3.0

Threatstoinformauthorities

0.8

Withholdingofassets(cashorother)

0.5

Withholdingdocuments

0.2

Threatsagainstfamilymembers

0.2

Otherformsofpunishment

0.2

Forcedlabourandworkinghours
Meanworkinghours
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

18 33
18.33

13 33
13.33

ForcedLabour ForcedLabour
withNon
withFinancial
FinancialPenalty
Penalty

13.11
3

13 4
13.4

Working
willingly

Total

Forcedlabourandsufficientrest
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%

771%

76%

74%

Working
willingly

Total

34%

0%

Forcedlabour Forcedlabour
withnon
withfinancial
p
y
penaltyy
p
financialpenalty

Yes

No

Forcedlabourandsavings
g
FLwithnon financialpenalty
FLwithnonfinancialpenalty

90

FLwithfinancialpenalty
p
y

333

63

19
9

133

Workingwillingly

58

23

11

Total

60

21

10

0%

20%

40%

60%

Nosavings
g

LessthanTHB2,500

THB2,501 4,500

MorethanTHB4,501

80%

100%

Violenceonboard
10.1%ofrespondentsreported
thattheyhadbeenseverely
beatenwhileonboard
8.6%ofshorthauland17%
8 6%ofshort hauland17%
oflonghaul
*Notnecessarilywithcurrentemployer

InitiativesunderwayinThailand
RevisionoftheMinisterialRegulationonSeaFisheries
Work
Establishmentoflabourcoordinationcenterstoregister
fishersandvessels;providetrainingtocaptainsandcrews;
handlecomplaints;etc.
IndustryCodeofConductandtrainingforemployers
Labourinspectionguidelinesforlabourofficers,marine
Labourinspectionguidelinesforlabourofficers marine
policeandnavy
Supportservicestofishers:provideinformationonrights,
recoverwages findmissingpersons formnetworks etc
recoverwages,findmissingpersons,formnetworks,etc.

Comparativestudy
ofpolicies,
recruitmentchannels
andsupportservices:
Cambodia,Indonesia,
Philippinesand
Vietnam andcase
studyon
Taipei,Chinas fishing
sector

RegionalMeetingonWork
inFishing:Increasingthe
KnowledgeBaseand
SharingGoodPracticesfor
theProtectionofMigrant
Workers
September2013
Makassar,Indonesia

Fisher SpecificProtections
FisherSpecificProtections
Indonesia,PhilippinesandVietnamhavestandardemployment
contractformigrantfishers
Vietnam:GuidanceNo.276onSendingVietnameseFishing
CrewforEmploymentinTaipei,China
RecruitmentagenciesinVietnamprovidefishingspecifictesting
g
p
g p
g
andtraining;obtainfishersinsurancetocoveraccidentsandpay
thefisherssalarytotheirfamily
Philippinesfishershaveformedthefirstmigrantworkertrade
pp
g
unioninTaipei,China
Longdistancehealthcareservicesystemwithhospitalsin
destinationcountriestoprovidemedicalservicestomigrant
p
g
fishers(Taipei,China)

Thankyouforyour
attention
Formoreinformation,pleasecontact:
MaxTunon,GMSTRIANGLEProject
Coordinator
ILORegionalOfficeforAsiaandthe
Pacific
Tel:6622882245
Email:tunon@ilo.org
www ilo org/asia/triangle
www.ilo.org/asia/triangle