Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Conduct Second Half Year Labor Conditions Survey for Foreign Crew Members

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 14th that it will conduct a second half-year labor condition survey on foreign crew members from the 15th of this month to the 17th of next month for four weeks, in cooperation with the National Federation of Maritime Seamen's Unions, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, and the Korea Coast Guard.

The target of this second half-year survey is foreign crew members working on coastal fishing vessels over 20 tons and distant-water fishing vessels. Joint inspection teams consisting of labor, management, and government officials will be formed in 12 regional offices of the local Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Offices to conduct the survey. The joint inspection teams will visit ships and accommodations with interpreters to conduct the survey in the crew members' native languages.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries conducts labor condition surveys every year in the first and second halves to protect the human rights of foreign crew members. In particular, it conducts confidential surveys targeting foreign crew members to focus on confirming issues such as assault, verbal abuse, whether standard labor contracts have been written, and wage arrears.

The Ministry will strive to ensure that the "Measures to Guarantee Human Rights and Improve Working Conditions for Foreign Crew Members," prepared through last year's labor condition survey, are properly reflected in the field, and will take strict action if any illegal matters such as human rights violations or wage arrears are found. In addition, it plans to check the implementation status of the amended "Seafarers Act," which prohibits shipowners from holding crew members' identification documents on their behalf, effective from July this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.