Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/17
By: Yu Hsiao-han and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Jan. 17 (CNA) Members of Taiwan International Workers Association (TIWA)

staged a protest in front of the Ministry of Labor building on Tuesday, demanding that fishery workers hired overseas should be protected by Taiwan’s Labor Standards Act.

The act protects basic human rights, payments and other benefits including paid leave.

However, the ministry replied that fishery workers on Taiwanese fishing boats have not entered the country and therefore do not qualify for protections stipulated in the act.

TIWA said Taiwan, which operates the largest fleet of deep sea fishing boats in the world, currently hires 14,627 foreign fishery workers who contribute to annual output worth NT$40 billion (US$1.27 billion).    [FULL  STORY]