The labour standards and conditions in foreign-owned vessels are to be investigated by the New Zealand government but the Maritime Union said it will “need to shine a light into dark places.”
While the move is being welcomed by the union, its general secretary, Joe Fleetwood, said the government’s objectives sound good on paper, but he added, “Enforceable rules and regulations for labour standards, and the need for New Zealand to benefit from our own resources, including jobs, are the big issues.”
He also said the inquiry is long overdue but that it will only confirm what is already known, “that disgraceful practices have become the norm and accepted by the industry... This is a problem that has been allowed to grow and grow for decades.”
His take on the solution is simple. “We want to have the fishing and processing done by New Zealand operators employing New Zealand workers on decent wages and conditions. We want the phase out of joint ventures. They’ve been a failure that has resulted in New Zealand being identified internationally as a place where disgraceful practices are condoned,” concluded Mr Fleetwood, and added, “If overseas crews are phased out, the abuse, exploitation and underpayment will be solved.”
However, World Fishing columnist Menakhem Ben-Yami pointed out that the trouble has landed on New Zealand’s doorstep because of its tradable quotas allocation system. "It soon led to the quotas being concentrated in the hands of a few companies, which found it cheaper to charter foreign owned fishing ships than owning ones," he said.
