The Fisher Rights’ Protection in Thailand under the ILO Working in Fishing 2007 (Convention No. 188)

Abstract

After the ratification to the ILO Convention on Working in Fishing (Convention No. 188) in 2020, Thailand has a significant progress in issuing laws and developing a mechanism to protect the fisher’s rights. This research aims to explore consequences from the implementation of the Convention No.188 as the international obligation from the rights’ perspective. The research methods consist of documentary research, in-depth interview and non-participant observation.

The research outcomes have shown progress on the implementation of Convention No.188 by Thailand but there still certain issues that Thai laws or practices are not consistent to the standards provided in the Convention No.188. Such inconsistencies are the lack of the real representative of employees in the tripartite process, the inconsistency of Thai laws and practices to the provisions contained in the Convention No.188, problems occurring from law enforcement and the burdens of both employers and employees for implementing prevention measures against Covid-19 pandemic.

Research outcomes lead to four groups of recommendations. There are firstly to amend legal laws that obstruct freedom and association and collective bargaining of workers in the fishery, secondly to revise the existing laws and thoroughly study the subjects of using child labour in fishing industry, terms in the employment contract and the protection of social security as well as to revise relevant practices on leaving the employee’s documents to the employers, the process and cost of the recruitment process, the wage payment and the debt deduction between employers and employees and the occupational safety and health, thirdly to improve the monitoring system and law enforcement including the complaint procedure for fishing workers and fourthly to reduce the burdens of employer and employees for implementing the COVID-19 prevention measures.