Three Indonesian fishers stranded in Mauritius have been compensated for wages owed and repatriated with the help of the Fisheries Agency, two years after they were stranded by their Taiwanese employer, the agency said yesterday.
The Indonesians returned home last week, after which they were paid their salaries, it said.
Officials opened multi-channel negotiations with the distant-water fishing ship operator, labor brokers and governments to compensate and repatriate the fishers, the agency said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Mauritian law mandates that at least three crew members attend commercial vessel berthed in the Indian Ocean nation, the Fisheries Agency said.
The Indonesians were stranded after the Taiwanese operator failed to relieve them, it said.
Officials secured a deal with the Mauritian government to allow another company to furnish replacements for the three fishers while the labor broker agreed to arrange the back pay, it said.
The vessel was still in Mauritius.
The agency fined the ship’s operator NT$250,000 and suspended its license for two months, citing wage theft dating to October last year, it said.
The ship operator has not paid the fine and officials are pursuing additional penalties, the agency said.
The operator’s actions constitute a grave breach of its employees’ rights and officials are mulling steep penalties, it said, adding that it would not turn a blind eye to exploitation.
Law enforcement officials have launched a separate probe into possible human trafficking charges against the ship’s operator, the agency said.
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