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The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has called on the government to improve the working conditions of crew members of foreign nationality working on fishing boats here, many of whom suffer from violations of human rights due to excessively long working hours, as well as economic exploitation and physical abuse by their employers.
The NHRCK asked the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Thursday, to implement measures to protect the human rights of foreign nationals working on local fishing boats hired under the Seafarers' Act.
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| The offices of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea / Korea Times file |
Through monitoring conducted in 2020, the NHRCK found that many of the foreign fishing crew members go into large debt during the recruitment process, as private brokers in their countries of origin often charge them excessive fees to obtain their jobs and visas here.
"A recruitment advertisement released by a private employment agency in Indonesia demanded those wishing to work as fishing crew here to pay about 10 million won ($8,440) each, as well as submit the deeds of their homes and land in their home country as deposits," the commission said in a press release.
It was also found that, once hired, foreign national crew members are forced to work for excessively long hours, as there are no legal limits to their working hours.
In addition to having to endure dangerous working conditions on the boats, they often suffer from exploitation and abuse by their employers, such as verbal and physical assault, delayed payments, and confiscation of their identity documents, according to the commission.
In this regard, the human rights commission recommended the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to guarantee by law fishing crew members of foreign nationality rest breaks and reasonable working hours, as well as to designate a government organization to oversee the recruitment and employment process.
The ministry was also asked to strengthen its monitoring of the working conditions of the crew members, to provide human rights education programs to their employers and to help foreign national employees better understand their rights, as well as how to seek legal remedies in cases of exploitation.
