Taiwan

Father Bruno Ciceri is the national director of AOS Taiwan and chaplain to the port of Kaohsiung. Kaohsiung is a centre of activity for the Taiwanese deep sea fishing industry which employs many foreign fishers. At the Stella Maris International Service Centre fishers are made welcome and offerred spiritual and practical care.

This article is about the harsh lives endured by foreign fishers on Taiwanese fishing boats. Fr Bruno says:

The observations which I share with you here are the result of nine years of working as a director of the Stella Maris International Service Centre in Kaohsiung. I am no longer surprised by the stories that fishers tell me when they seek assistance from our centre. But I still get upset and ask myself why these things are still happening.

The context

The Taiwanese deep sea fishing industry has being growing steadily for many years. However, the number of Taiwanese people willing to be employed in this sector has not increased proportionally. Therefore, for more than a decade, the industry has used foreign fishers on distant water vessels.

Usually on a fishing vessel, the officers are Taiwanese. The majority of the crew are from the Chinese mainland with others of various nationalities: Filipinos, Indonesians or Vietnamese. Foreign fishers are recruited in different ways both legal and illegal. All it needs are people willing to take the risk and agents looking for profit.

The government recruitment system

Owners of fishing vessels must first obtain a permit from the Council of Labor Affairs. Then a broker contacts an agent in the Philippines, Indonesia or Vietnam who hires the fishers. The fishers fly to Taiwan where they have a standard government-approved contract; a minimum salary of 15,840 New Taiwan Dollars; and an Alien Residence Certificate. But this is an expensive process for which the fishers are charged. They either pay before flying or have it deducted from their monthly salary in Taiwan.

Local recruitment in the Philippines

The Philippine government allows foreign fishing vessels to hire local fishers when fishing along the Philippine coast. Sometimes, for whatever reason, the captain decides to leave Philippine waters and does not want to “waste time” taking the fishers back home. They must ride along to other ports in the region hoping that the vessel returns to the Philippines. Often they come ashore in Taiwan where they have no contract to work. Many seek help at the Stella Maris International Service Centre.

Illegal recruitment by Singapore agents

Fishers pay between one and two thousand US dollars to agents before they leave their own countries. Posing as tourists, they fly out to join vessels in ports around Asia, eg Singapore, Bangkok or Davao. At the airport, they are given three year contracts with a monthly salary of around US$120-150. Of this, US$100 is retained by the agent in Singapore to be returned at the end of the contract. To receive it, fishers must sign off in Singapore. These kind of illegal contracts condemn fishers to conditions of slavery.

The life of inexperienced foreign fishers

Generally fishers come from poor and undeveloped areas of the country. They are young with little or no education. For them any job, no matter how difficult or dangerous, is better than no job at all.

Sometimes recent graduates of maritime schools accept employment as fishers. They may prefer this option to waiting indefinitely for a job in the merchant marine. Some join fishing vessels to gain experience at sea.

Fishing vessels may spend some time in dry-dock for repairs. The fishers must act as painters, carpenters in rebuilding work. When a vessel is ready, it may leave at short notice. Its destination and routes could change suddenly depending on weather and fishing grounds. Once the vessel leaves port, the captain is the absolute authority and has power over the whole crew.

Onboard, the inexperienced fishers face the harsh realities of life on a deep sea fishing vessel. On the outside, the vessels look old and rusty. Inside, freezers for fish occupy most of the space. Crew cabins are small and without ventilation. Messrooms for eating and recreation rooms are nonexistent. Kitchens and pantries are dirty, water tanks rusted. Safety equipment such as radios, fire extinguishers, lifeboats or life jackets are old and sometimes unreliable.

For many of these new “fishers” it is their first time that they see the sea. Even those who were fishers in their home villages may not be familiar with the technology used for deep sea fishing. They have to learn quickly if they want to avoid shouting and harassment from the officers.

The time spent at sea ranges from a few days to over a year without coming ashore. Not going into port saves money and maximizes the time spent at the fishing ground. At sea, fishers are unable to contact family and friends. They cannot make telephone calls. Letters take weeks or months to arrive. In emergencies, their families do not have the means to contact the fishers.

Alone with their thoughts

Living in restricted space, unable to leave the vessel at will, and without external contact, a fisher becomes a prisoner of the vessel. Often he is also prisoner of his own thoughts. If he cannot find anyone with whom to share his feelings, soon he will have nothing to share with his fellow fishers. Linguistic, cultural and religious differences impede social interraction among the crew and may cause tension.

These fishers often have very little religious education. At sea, they lose the sense of the liturgical time: festivals such as Christmas and Easter, even the notion of Sunday as the “Day of the Lord”. On a deep sea fishing vessel, every day is the same.

Fear of mockery may force them to compromise and hide their faith and commitment to God. Nature, the sea, the sky, the wind and the fish, no longer represent beauty and the chance to contemplate and discover God. Nature becomes a force to fight against.

Tensions onboard

After a few months, when the crew is at its busiest, the food supplies are low. Fishers work long hours without breaks in order to process the fish. Often they are exposed to rain or icy seawater without warm or protective clothing. This is when adequate provision of food and sufficient water for drinking and bathing are most necessary.

The combined effects of intensive work in poor conditions and insufficient sustenance cause fishers to slow down their work. This may be a motive for the officers to verbally abuse and physically maltreat the crew. There is tension that quite often lead to fights. Although often unreported, there are also cases of sexual harassment and abuse, especially by officers taking advantage of the lower ranking crew.

Fishing is one of the deadliest profession: this is as true for Taiwan as anywhere else. Underreporting of fatalities, especially of foreigners, means that we cannot know the real figures. It seems that most fishing vessel casualties are the result of human error. Long hours of work mean that the fishers become tired and less attentive. We are also aware that a certain number of fishers disappear at sea for unknown reasons.

For the victims’ families, claiming death benefits is an impossible task. They may not know the terms of the contract; they are ignorant of the laws and regulations; and they live in different country. A husband, father, brother, son, or friend has died. Sometimes there is not even a grave on which to lay flowers because their beloved was lost at sea. Relatives are left only with anger and tears.

Some fishers have occupational accidents and survive with permanent injuries. Taiwanese Labor Law stipulates that owners who employ fewer than five crew members are not obliged to pay Labor Insurance. Consequently, injured fishers are sent home without assistance or compensation.

On board fishing vessels there are crew members with some knowledge of first aid but these are not trained for medical emergencies. Furthermore, after a few months, even basic medicines for headache or toothache are in short supply. The most common pain killer and anaesthetic is alcohol.

A risk of imprisonment

A lack of fish stocks in international waters sometimes drives the captain to take a chance. He may take the vessel into the territorial waters of another country. If they are caught, the fishing vessel is put under arrest, the catch seized and the crew put in jail.

It can take months for the judicial process to be completed or for the governments of both countries to reach an agreement over the fishers. In the meantime the fishers cannot work or send money to their families. The owner may be more concerned about the vessel, abandoning the crew and refusing to pay back wages or the cost of repatriation.

Contract violations

It should also be said that having a legal, government approved, contract does not guarantee better protection or more rights. Contract violations or substitution are widespread. Fishers are forced to sign blank cheques or receipts which are used to deduct brokers’ fees. Some must also sign blank papers which are used as an excuse for forced repatriation if the fishers give trouble.

Non payment or under payment of salaries has prompted many fishers to leave the fishing vessels. Sometimes they find themselves stranded in strange places without money or identification documents. Salaries paid may not be commensurate to the hours worked; overtime is not paid and holiday pay does not exist.

The bonus system included in the contract is almost never honoured. It is used only as an inducement to fishers to work harder but the company or the Captain keep the profit. Sometimes part of the salary is kept by the agent until the end of the contract. This forces fishers to keep quiet and not risk losing this money by complaining to the authorities.

A call to action

My predecessor, Fr. Gilberto Orioli together with Fr. Carlos Oda, then port chaplain in Manila, brought the situation to the attention of the mass media. These called on the government to pay attention. But little or nothing has changed.

We need stronger lobbying and advocacy. Taiwan is not member of any international organisation and as such is not bound by any convention. However there should be pressure on governments in countries where Taiwanese fishing vessels dock for repair or bunkering. They must take responsibility in intervening and protecting the human rights and labour rights of fishers.

We should insist that the countries of origin of these fishers, namely the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam, pursue illegal recruiting agents. They need to adopt better recruitment policies which include training programmes. These would develop skilled fishers who are technically prepared and ready for the different cultural and social environment in which they will work.

The Taiwanese government should be more attentive to the human rights and labour rights of these fishers. Their hard work and sacrifices contribute substantially to the economy of Taiwan.

Together with our ICMA partners, we should continue lobbying for the interests of fishers with the international organizations such as the ITF, IMO, ILO, and FAO.

Finally we should welcome the fishers in our centres and missions as if we were welcoming Christ in our midst. Fishers need the friendship of the chaplain, the smile of the volunteer, a quiet corner to write a letter or send a postcard, a room to be alone with their God. If we are able to offer these simple things even for a few hours, then fishers will feel welcome and at home among us. For fishers we should offer “a safe harbour”, a place to rest, to unload their burdens and regain spiritual strength for another fishing trip.

click here to read the ILO and fishers' rights