The Labour Minister met to review and revise the C188 laws, to obtain a clear conclusion from the demands of fishermen before proceeding to submit the ratification on January 30.
The Labour Minister met to review and revise the C188 laws, to obtain a clear conclusion from the demands of fishermen before proceeding to submit the ratification on January 30.
On January 24, 2019, Labour Minister H.E. Police General Adul Sangsingkeo chaired the meeting to review and revise laws related to the International Labor Organization Convention No. 188 on Work in Fishing (2007), at the Prof. Nikom Chandravithu Conference Room, 5th floor, Ministry of Labour. Relevant agencies such as all departments under the Ministry of Labour, Department of Fisheries, the Marine Department, the Department of Medical Services, the Command Center for Combating Illegal Fishing (CCCIF) and fishermen representatives from the 22 coastal provinces attended the meeting. Guidelines for improving the criteria for implementation in accordance C188 on January 8, 2019, had the following 11 joint conclusions:
1) The rate of contribution to the compensation fund and refunds from the fund if the employee does not complete 2 years;
2) The opportunity to buy health insurance from the Ministry of Public Health along with private insurance, substituting registration into the social security system.
3) The unclear definition of “fishing vessels for commercial fishing” on whether local fishing boats are included under new law enforcement or not
4) Accommodation arrangements on fishing boats applicable to certain types and sizes of vessels.
5) Suitability of the quantity/quality of food and beverages.
6) The long duration for importing workers according to the MOU and expenses responsible by the employer, causing foreign workers to have no responsibility which often results in workers fleeing to new employers.
7) The disagreement on the Ministry of Public Health to charge extra for eye and ear examinations, and the formation for a manual/guideline for patients.
8) The calculation of resting hours inconsistent with the working conditions on the fishing boats, whereby some PIPO centers checked hours and stayed for 10 consecutive hours.
9) The request to correct redundancy of laws relevant to the list of crew members.
10) The unclarity in the determination of manpower according to the size of the vessel and the problem of the number of crew members not being fully informed to the Port Out, causing vessels unable to fish,
11) Conditions for sending workers back to the country of origin whereby employers should not be responsible for expenses in cases where the employee is at fault.
In addition, the meeting also considered the demands of fishermen who have to discuss the additional 3 issues, namely 1) Guidelines and types of vessels that require a boat inspection certificate 2) The opportunity for people aged 16 years and older to be trained in fishing boats and 3) The issue of paying wages through bank accounts/ATMs that create a burden for employers/employees, whereby it was proposed for laws to be amended to allow payment in cash and advanced payments. Other claims were could be summarized as: 1) Proposal for control over the performance standards at the PIPO center 2) Proposal for solutions to problems with VMS 3) Proposal to the government to issue funding assistance for fishing 4) The problem of ship-in-out notification at the PIPO center in the Koh Yao, Phang Nga, which has islands and currents that are obstacles and vessels are unable to navigate within the given time.
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Division of Public Relations/
News by Chaninthorn Phettab/
Photos by Pariyaron Phromsakha Na Sakonnakhon/
Information by Prevention of Human Trafficking on Labour Operation Center)/
24 January 2019/
