TRAT, 6 October 2014 The Department of Employment’s Trat Office has claimed there is no human trafficking activity in the fishing industry. It said migrant workers only spent a few days at sea before returning ashore.
According to the Department, there have been a growing number of human trafficking reports in the ASEAN fishing industry. Human rights violations usually occur on large fishing vessels that stay in the sea for months on end.
A center to combat human trafficking in Trat has been set up, the sub-committee of which consists of government officials, said the department, adding that it has found no evidence of human rights abuse among migrant workers.
Most of the fishing boats in Trat are small, and fishermen only leave the shore for a few days at a time before returning. These migrant workers get to spend more of their time on land than those on larger trawlers.
However, the fishing industry is currently facing an acute shortage of workers. Fishermen have been encouraged to take better care of their workers, so that they would want to stay longer on the job.
