Taipei- The Wi-Fi NOW for Fishers’ Rights campaign is urging the Fisheries Agency (TFA), which oversees Taiwan's $2 billion per year fishing industry, to incorporate meaningful reforms for safeguarding the rights of migrant fishers, in the National Action Plan on Fisheries and Human Rights. This includes adopting the campaign’s Model Operational Guidelines (link) for the implementation of mandatory Wi-Fi access for fishers in Taiwan’s distant water fleet.
Migrant fishers and civil society groups in the Wi-Fi Now for Fishers’ Rights campaign have been advocating for improved conditions for migrant fishers in Taiwan’s distant water fleet for the last two years. The campaign has repeatedly brought issues of forced labor, wage theft, and health and safety violations to the attention of TFA and has called for mandatory, free, secure Wi-Fi for all distant water fishers, which is essential for fishers to protect their rights, including by allowing them to participate in union activities, report accidents and grievances, monitor wage payments, access telehealth services, and combat isolation by allowing them to contact loved ones, unions, and support organizations. The campaign has urged the agency to listen closely to the voices of fishers and those working directly on the front lines of the industry.
Under new leadership, TFA is currently revising its National Action Plan with a renewed focus on aligning Taiwan’s fishing industry with international human rights and labor standards. The campaign has provided TFA with detailed recommendations and the model guidelines to implement Wi-Fi access.
“We welcome the commitment of the new leadership of the TFA to revising its Action Plan on Fisheries and Human Rights. We urge the TFA to adopt our recommendations (link), including mandating Wi-Fi, which would allow fishers to exercise their labor rights, empower fishers to form and participate in unions and protect themselves from labor abuse. We urge/encourage/call on the TFA’s new leadership to take this crucial opportunity to implement meaningful reforms, positioning Taiwan as a responsible trading partner that can guarantee international buyers that seafood sourced from Taiwan is ethically produced and free from the risk of forced labor.
“Isolation and lack of communication for migrant fishers at sea are significant risks for forced labor, which endangers the lives of fishers and threatens the distant-water fishing industry. Fishers must have a way to voice their concerns and organize with their unions without fear of retaliation. Providing fishers with mandatory, free, secure Wi-Fi with protections against retaliation will promote a safer work environment that protects both them and the fishing industry.”
Wi-Fi NOW for Fisher’s Rights Campaign is an international campaign with U.S., Taiwanese, Japanese and Indonesian allies, including the Indonesian Seafarers’ Gathering Forum - Pingtung Migrant Fishers’ Union (FOSPI-PMFU),, or Forum Silaturahmi Pelaut Indonesia (FOSPI), Global Labor Justice, Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR), Stella Maris Kaohsiung, Serve the People Association (SPA), and the Pacific Asia Resource Center (PARC).
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