A study by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has found that, contrary to common perception, forced labour does not account for the majority of fishery workers in Thailand.
The study _ the ILO's first on the matter _ found 83% of respondents worked in the industry willingly.
The 105-page report on "Employment Practices and Working Conditions in Thailand's Fishing Sector", conducted by the ILO and Chulalongkorn University, was released yesterday.
It found that 17% of the 596 fishery workers it interviewed _ 306 Myanmar nationals, 241 Cambodians and 49 Thais _ were working against their will and were unable to leave because of the threat of penalties. The other 83% said they were working by choice.
However, while 94.6% of the respondents said they took up the job voluntarily, 5.4% stated they were deceived or coerced into working in the fisheries sector, ILO senior programme officer Max Tunon said yesterday.
The survey is the largest poll of fishery workers in Thailand to date.
It was carried out from May to September last year, and found 53% of respondents stayed at sea for less than two weeks at a time, while 17% stayed aboard boats for up to six months per journey.
Workers on long-haul boats typically faced longer working hours, while typical rest periods for all workers were less than five hours per 24.
About 26% of the respondents said they did not get enough rest.
The mean wage among the respondents was 6,483 baht a month, and most of them (63%) were paid monthly while 12% _ mostly workers on long-haul trawlers _ were paid upon the completion of each voyage.
While the survey found 33 children under the age of 18 working on fishing vessels and some other serious abuses such as threats of violence, "we could not say that forced labour is the main feature in the Thai fishing industry", Mr Tunon said.
He said there had been some improvements in understanding among stakeholders and he hoped seven proposed government coordination centres would be up and running next month to ensure greater protection in the recruitment and employment of fishery workers.
"The Ministerial Regulation No.10 on sea fishery work is being revised and coordination centres which will handle complaints, registration and training services are being set up," the ILO project coordinator said.
Other initiatives being launched include labour inspections and occupational safety and health checks, and the development of a code of conduct outlining good labour practices for vessel owners and captains.
"Improving working conditions is also vital to addressing a severe labour shortage in the fishing sector, and to ensuring the sustainability of the industry," Chulalongkorn's Asian Research Centre for Migration director Supang Chantavanich said yesterday.
The survey stresses the importance of regulating the role of labour brokers in the registration and regularisation of migrant fishermen, he said.
"If the national verification process could be completed sooner and be less cumbersome, that will help reduce [migrant workers'] exposure to brokers," Ms Supang said.
Thailand is a major world supplier of seafood products, with exports exceeding US$7 billion per annum in recent years.
According to the National Fisheries Association of Thailand, 142,845 workers are currently employed by its members, and many more are employed by other fishery-related enterprises.
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