The Labour Minister ordered the setup of a small working group to consider and answer 14 requests from fishermen in the 22 coastal provinces and to form a settlement within one month. The results of negotiations came out favourable for fisherman, and the Labour Minister confirmed registration to ratify ILO Convention 188 by the end of January 2019. รมว.แรงงาน สั่งตั้งคณะทำงานโต๊ะเล็กพิจารณาตอบ 14 ข้อเรียกร้องชาวประมง 22 จังหวัดชายทะเลให้ได้ข้อยุติภายใน 1 เดือน ด้านผลการเจรจาชื่นมื่นเป็นที่พอใจของชาวประมง รมว.แรงงาน ยัน สามารถยื่นจดทะเบียนอนุสัญญา ฉบับที่ 188 ได้ภายในปลายเดือนมกราคม 2562
On December 26, 2018, Labour Minister, H.E. Police General Adul Sangsingkeo presided over the meeting of relevant agencies to develop and review the laws in the fishing business. The meeting took place at the Prof. Nikom Chandravithu Conference Room, 5th Floor, Ministry of Labour. Permanent Secretary of Labour Mr. Jarin Chakkaphark, the Ministry of Labour’s senior executives and representatives from fishery associations in the 22 coastal provinces also joined the meeting.
The meeting considered the 14 requests from fishing associations in the 22 coastal provinces, including:
1. Payroll through ATMs, which is a problem and creates a burden for employers/employees., and amendments to the law to be able to pay wages in advance;
2. The definition of fishing boats for subsistence is still unclear and whether this will be legally enforced for local fishing boats or not;
3. The opportunity to buy health insurance from the Ministry of Public Health along with private insurance to substitute entry into the social security system;
4. The rate of contribution to the Compensation Fund and refunds from the fund if the employee has not completed the year;
5. The arrangement of accommodation on fishing vessels applicable only to new ships that have a deck and a size of 300 tons or more;
6. Guidelines and details for types of vessels that require a vessel inspection certificate;
7. Suitability about the quantity and quality of food and beverages;
8. The opportunity for individuals aged 16 years and over to be able to train on fishing vessels;
9. Determination of conditions for sending workers back to their country of origin, especially if the employee is at fault, employers should not be responsible for expenses;
10. The import workers according to the MOU takes a long time and is cost burden; thus it was requested to control the problem of migrant workers fleeing from employers;
11. There are annual health checkups for workers already. It was disagreed if the Ministry of Public Health would collect additional expenses for eye and hearing examinations. The fishery associations also asked to create a guide/guideline for referring patients;
12. The count of break hours and setting the break hours by the working conditions on each type of fishing boat;
13. The request for the redundancy of the law regarding the crew list; and
14. Determination of workforce in vessels should be defined as the highest rate that can be issued for fishing.
The meeting agreed to set up a small working group to consider and respond to each of requests. Out of the 14 claims from the fishermen, all were relevant to ILO Convention 188 with the addition of 4 items which were;
1. Annual health checks for employees;
2. Sending workers back from foreign ports;
3. Social security; and
4. Practice and enforcement that requires a boat inspection certificate, living conditions and working conditions on the vessel.
Pol.Gen. Adul Also assigned Permanent Secretary of Labour Mr. Jarin Chakkaphark as chairman of the working group by allowing Deputy Permanent Secretary Mr. Vivat Jirapantuvanich as secretary, to consider answering the 14 demands from the fishery associations in the 22 coastal provinces. This would be together with relevant agencies such as representatives from all departments under the Ministry of Labour, the Department of Fisheries, the Marine Department, the Department of Medical Services, the Office of the Council of State and representatives of the fishing associations from 22 provinces to obtain concrete conclusions within one month. As for the registration to ratify ILO Convention 188, it is expected to be implemented by the end of January 2019. After the meeting, the Labor Minister met and spoke with fishermen who came to listen to the results of this meeting as well.
—————————————–
Division of Public Relations/
News by Chaninthorn Phettab/
Photos by Sompob Silbut/
26 December 2018/
