Indonesian fishers say salary payments 11-15 months overdue

Taipei, Aug. 7 (CNA) Ten Indonesian migrant fishers working on a Taiwanese-flagged distant water fishing vessel said Wednesday they were collectively owed wages totaling US$80,850 for periods of employment ranging from 11 to 15 months.

The 10 Indonesians were crew members of the fishing vessel "You Fu" homeported in Liuqiu Township, Pingtung County.

Feri Rahardjo, one of the fishers, said at a news conference that he has not been paid for 15 months.

Due to the delayed paychecks, Rahardjo said his aunt died because his family could not afford the treatment she required. He added that his house is on the verge of being sequestrated by his bank.

Another crew member, Masduki Priyono, said they lived in appalling conditions, for example, their beds were infested by bedbugs which left their whole bodies itchy.

Food deliveries were late on two occasions during the 15 months, Priyono said, adding that while waiting, only fish bait and instant noodles were available to eat.

In addition, the shipowner often subjected them to verbal abuse and threatened them, he said.

The fishers said there was no Wi-Fi on the vessel, and Priyono only found out they had not been paid and that his wife and two children had not received any remittances upon their return to shore on July 15.

Priyono said that simply paying the owed wages would not be sufficient and expressed hope the shipowner would receive adequate punishment.

"If they are punished for catching fish they're not supposed to catch, why are they not punished for subjecting migrant fishers to illegal treatment?" he asked.

Lee Cheng-hsin (李正新), a migrant worker rights advocate with Rerum Novarum Center, said in the past, incidents involving delayed salary payments to migrant fishers were handled according to the Act for Distant Water Fisheries, which decides punishments for violations of contractual terms such as suspension of fishing permits.

However, shipowners who owe crew members their salaries are also liable under the Civil Code and should pay interest on top because their families were forced to borrow money to survive, Lee said.

He added that rules should be introduced to enable judges to order offenders to pay crew members damages in addition to late salary payments.

In response, Hsueh Po-yuan (薛博元), head of the Fisheries Agency's (FA) Fisheries Manpower Division, said the agency had ordered the shipowner to clear all the salary payments to the fishers by Friday.

Should the shipowner fail to meet the deadline, the FA will pay the fishers using the collateral paid by their manpower broker, Hsueh said.

Hsueh told CNA that after a meeting with the shipowner, surnamed Huang (皇), and the broker on Tuesday, Huang said all 10 fishers should receive their late wages on Thursday.

When contacted for comment, Huang said she had encountered financial difficulty, hence the delayed payments.

She said she had come up with the money and repeated that the fishers will receive their payments on Thursday.