C. Core agenda items for promotion
Ⅰ-10-1. Migrant workers engaging in agriculture, livestock industry, and fishery
should enjoy equal treatment to locals engaging in the same type of
work in terms of wage and working conditions under the Labor
Standards Act and the Minimum Wage Act.
Ⅰ-10-2. The government should mitigate the restrictions on movement to other
workplaces of migrant workers engaging in agriculture, livestock
industry, and fishery, considering seasonal unemployment.
11. More stringent protection of human rights migrant
workers engaging in fishing
A. Current status and problems
• Migrant workers engaging in coastal fishing (total number: 7,764 in 2011;
number of undocumented ones: 2,225 or 27.7% vs. 18.4% for undocumented
migrant workers under the Work Permit System) are controlled by the Ministry
of Land, Transportation, and Maritime Affairs (MLTM) rather than by the
Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL). Migrant workers engaging in
offshore fishing are not covered by the Work Permit System. Their workplace
is a fishing boat, which means that they have to work long hours, their workplace
is not separated from the place of residence, and they are isolated from the local
community. Due to the special circumstances of their workplace, their labor
rights are not recognized properly. They are governed by the Seafarers Act, but
Part 1. Stronger protection of migrant workers’ human rights
25