On 29 November 2018, the National Legislative Assembly of the Kingdom of Thailand approved the Ministry of Labour’s proposal to proceed with the ratification of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention No. 188, 2007 (C188). Thailand aims to deposit the instrument of ratification for C188 by January 2019, becoming the first ASEAN member state as well as the first state in Asia to ratify the Convention.

          Police General Adul Sangsingkeo, Minister of Labour of Thailand, informed the press that the Ministry of Labour has conducted several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders, including employers, employees, representatives of civil societies, members of the academia, and other relevant government agencies. The Ministry has also drafted the Work in Fishing Act, B.E. …. which has fully incorporated views from all stakeholders taken from six rounds of public hearing, where most participants agreed that the ratification of the Convention will be beneficial to both employers and employees, as well as improving the image of Thailand’s fisheries sector and fisheries products.

          The ratification of the Convention will elevate the standard of labour protection onboard fishing vessels to be in line with the international standard. It will also reduce the risk of labour falling into forced labour situations. This is attributed to the fact that C188 will ensure decent work for fishing workers, including setting the maximum working hours, ensuring quality of accommodation, food, drinking water and medical care, as well as carrying out inspections of working and living conditions on board the vessels. These measures will attract more workers into the fisheries sector, thus alleviating the shortage of labour in this sector. It is anticipated that the legal enforcement will commence by mid-2019. At present, Thailand’s existing regulations of various agencies are already compatible with 80 percent of the provisions of the Convention.

          Thailand is fully committed to raising the standard of labour protection, for both Thai and migrant workers, to be in line with international standard in order to promote ethical fishing alongside good governance. The Royal Thai Government has continuously been making efforts in this regard, in parallel with combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, with a view to ensuring Thailand’s sustainable fisheries as the ultimate goal of the government.