S2E1 - Jon Hartough, Southeast Asia Regional Coordinator of the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF)

"These fishers are facing conditions that most workers in the United States would be shocked to hear about. "

Jon Hartough is the Southeast Asia Regional Coordinator for the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF). In this interview, Jon discusses the challenges in organizing migrant fishers in Thailand's fishing industry. While there have been some positive steps taken such as ratification of the International Labour Organization Work in Fishing Convention (C188), shortened time at sea, and the establishing of Port-In, Port-Out (PIPO) inspection stations, migrant fishers still face severe exploitation. Thailand ratified C188 in 2019, but effective implementation and enforcement remain major challenges to realizing the structural reforms needed to mitigate the significant problems remaining in the industry, both in Thailand and throughout the region.

Labor Link Podcast host Judy Gearhart speaks with Jon about the ITF's support for the Fisher Rights Network (FRN), a union of migrant workers with a presence in a growing number of Thai ports, and why he finds this work so inspiring. Jon recently published a summary of what fishers are up against in The New Samudra Report, #86. Highlights from that article follow.

Poor health and safety conditions: Conditions on board vessels remain substandard. Fishers regularly report inadequate food and clean drinking water, poorly stocked and inaccessible first-aid kits, insufficient protective equipment, poor training, cramped sleeping quarters, the absence of toilets, and limited hours of rest that increase injuries and accidents on board vessels.

Financial exploitation: Many fishers report receiving wages significantly lower than the amount stated in their employment contracts, and, in most cases, wages are paid in cash rather than as monthly bank transfers as required by Thai law. Fishers continue to remain at high risk of debt bondage due to unlawful migration and high broker or document fees.

Document retention and movement restrictions: Fishers report that their passports, work permits, automated teller machine (ATM) cards, bank passbooks, and other important documents are often held by the boat captain or owner and are not accessible. This restricts the movement of fishers and limits their ability to change vessels, access payments, freely transfer or remit earnings, and report abuse.

Ineffective implementation and enforcement of ILO C188: Despite ratification, significant gaps remain in the effective implementation and enforcement of C188. Thai law and labor inspections currently do not meet the standards outlined in the Convention.

However, despite these problems, fishers are now recognizing they can reshape the industry and improve their future, if they organize to build power. The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has been assisting fishers in forming the Fishers Rights Network (FRN), the first and only independent and democratic trade union for migrant fishers in Thailand. Since its inception in 2018, the FRN has established organizing centers in three major Thai fishing ports and organized over 3,000 migrant fishers. The main organizing centers are in Songkhla (in the ‘Deep South’), Ranong (on the Andaman Sea coast along the Myanmar border), and in Trat (eastern Thailand on the Cambodian border). These strategic locations have allowed the FRN to organize fishers as they enter the country and while they work on board fishing vessels.

Samudra Report No. 86 – Thailand Labor Rights | “A Level Playing Field” by Jon Hartough

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