Thailand has become the first country in Asia to ratify the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No.188) , which protects the living and working conditions of fishers on board vessels, International Labour Organization said in its release.
The Work in Fishing Convention sets out binding requirements relating to work on board fishing vessels, including occupational safety and health, medical care at sea and ashore, rest periods, written work agreements, and social security protection. It also aims to ensure that fishing vessels provide decent living conditions for fishers on board.
The commercial fishing and seafood industry contributes around US$6 billion to Thai exports, with Thailand being among the top global exporters of seafood products. The Thai fishing and seafood processing sectors together employed more than 600,000 workers in 2017, of whom 302,000 were registered migrant workers. The Thai fishing industry alone registered more than 57,000 migrant fishers in 2017 on approximately 10,550 commercial fishing vessels.
The ILO’s Ship to Shore Rights Project , funded by the European Union, will continue to support the Royal Thai Government, employers’ organizations, and workers’ organizations to raise standards in the Thai commercial fishing industry.
Angola, Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Congo, Estonia, France, Lithuania, Morocco, Namibia, Norway, Senegal, South Africa and the United Kingdom, had already ratified the Work in Fishing Convention, making Thailand the 14th country to ratify it. Dating back to 2007, the Convention came into force for the first 10 ratifying States on 17 November 2017.
It will come into force in Thailand 30 January 2020, a year after ratification.