81 foreign fishermen ‘kept like slaves’ in Taiwan

TAIPEI: A group of foreign fishermen in Taiwan was locked in tiny windowless rooms around the clock to stop them escaping while not at sea, prosecutors said in the island’s latest abuse case involving migrant workers.

Fishing and boat company owners were among 19 people charged on Monday in the southern city of Kaohsiung for illegally holding 81 foreign fishermen in buildings after they had berthed their boats.

When they were at sea, the fishermen were sometimes made to work for 48 consecutive hours without rest for a monthly wage of US$300 to $500 (RM1,233 to RM2,055) the prosecutors said – despite Taiwan’s labour laws which stipulate a maximum working day of eight hours and minimum wage of around US$930 (RM3,821).

“The accused exploited the fishermen with illegal methods for their own profit,” prosecutors said in a statement, describing the fishermen as “slave labour in the sea”.

The 19 face charges of human trafficking and offences against personal liberty and could face a maximum seven-year jail term if convicted. Prosecutors also confiscated nearly NT$3.69 mil (RM505,407) from the companies in back pay for the workers.

The case came to light last year after a fisherman tipped off prosecutors with the help of a social worker, the statement said.

Authorities later raided two places where fishermen from countries including Indonesia, the Philippines, Tanzania and Vietnam were held and rescued them.

The case comes after an outcry over a police shooting of an unarmed Vietnamese migrant worker last month.

According to rights groups, exploitation of migrant workers is frequently reported in Taiwan, where around 600,000 foreigners work as caregivers, fishermen, construction and factory workers.

Chuang Shu-ching, a spokesman for Taiwan International Workers’ Association, said the government leaves the matter in the hands of for-profit private recruitment agencies, who mostly serve the interests of employers.

South-East Asians who make up the bulk of Taiwan’s migrant workers also face racial discrimination, she said.