Leaders of Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development have a 'headache' when fisheries control activities are paralyzed.

Workers lose their jobs, ships are grounded, and fisheries inspection work at sea in Nghe An is paralyzed.

Hope the fisheries inspectors can continue to work on the ship

The incident involving regulations that led to 10 workers on two fisheries inspection vessels of the Fisheries Sub-Department and Fisheries Inspection losing their jobs, and the fisheries inspection work at sea being paralyzed due to the lack of boat operators was reported by Nghe An Electronic Newspaper on April 8, 2024 in the article"Workers lost their jobs, ships were grounded, and fisheries surveillance work at sea was paralyzed."

In an interview with Nghe An Newspaper reporter on April 8, 2024, upon meeting the Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tran Xuan Hoc said:"After receiving the report from the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control, I directed the Personnel Department to immediately report to the director of the department to organize a working session with the Department of Home Affairs."

According to Mr. Tran Xuan Hoc, a short time ago, during a working trip to inspect the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing with Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van De in Quynh Luu district, he reported and asked for a solution to handle the suspension of 10 workers on the fishing control vessel of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control. Concluding this working session, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee assigned the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to work with the Department of Home Affairs. However, when the Head of the Department's Personnel Organization and Head of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control Tran Nhu Long came to work, the Department of Home Affairs replied that they should just follow the regulations. Thus, it can be understood that the Department of Home Affairs is acting in accordance with their responsibilities and expertise.

With 10 workers on the fisheries surveillance vessel, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Xuan Hoc determined that for many years now, they have been the key force of the fisheries sector performing tasks at sea to protect aquatic resources. Mr. Hoc said that since its establishment, the Fisheries Surveillance force has had accompanying policies and regimes, but they mainly focus on the Central Fisheries Surveillance force, while the provincial-level local Fisheries Surveillance force has almost nothing, although the work is similar, both participating in protecting aquatic resources in a stormy environment, even often facing opposition and aggression from illegal fishermen.

“The impact of policies and regimes on the provincial fisheries surveillance force is almost non-existent. It is a great disadvantage, but these brothers are very attached to the profession, including those who have worked on ships for more than 20 years…” - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Xuan Hoc commented.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Xuan Hoc, to remove the "Yellow Card" of the European Commission, there are many contents that need to be implemented. In which, patrolling and controlling at sea by the fisheries control force is a very important task. Being forced to stop the operation of the fisheries control vessel due to lack of operators has caused him a headache, worrying about how to find a solution to remove it, ensuring the maintenance of patrolling and controlling activities at sea.

In particular, it is expected that around May, the European Commission will come to work on the content of removing the "Yellow Card". On the other hand, the Government has directed ministries, branches and coastal provincial authorities to focus human and material resources to completely handle the situation of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. "At the present time, having to stop the labor contracts with these 10 people, the brothers at the Department may be heartbroken, and I am very worried. Therefore, I really hope that these workers can continue to work on the ship" - Mr. Tran Xuan Hoc confided.

Regarding the 3-month salary arrears, as every year, the wages of 10 workers on 2 fishing vessels are taken from the aquatic resources protection career fund. This is the source to pay both salaries and operating costs such as gasoline, oil, etc. The Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance also went to the Treasury to pay but could not, because the Treasury follows their principles. State management now does not have contracts but has switched to paying salaries based on job positions. And based on job positions, there are only civil servants, in addition to some departments serving contracts. So the source is still there, but cannot be paid. The Treasury has responded that these labor contracts must be regulated by the Provincial People's Committee and are among the contracts allowed, while the Department of Home Affairs responded that they must be implemented according to regulations.

“From a professional perspective, we need these people. They are all experienced people, with certificates and degrees for each professional position such as a train driver's license or a mechanic's certificate. While the demand for work is very high, funding is still available from the career budget. Therefore, when the Department of Agriculture works with the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, we will clearly report this content, trying to retain these people for the industry" - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Xuan Hoc concluded the discussion.

Recommend that the higher level Trade Union intervene

To resolve the regulatory problems that led to the suspension of 10 workers on 2 fishing control vessels, according to the Chairman of the Fisheries and Fisheries Control Sub-Department's Trade Union, Mr. Tran Xuan Nhue, after receiving information that the labor force of the two fishing control vessels had to be terminated, the employer had made many reports and recommendations. For the Sub-Department's Trade Union, it also recommended that the Party Executive Committee send a written report to the superiors to contribute more voice. At the same time, meetings were organized to encourage workers and provide financial support because all 10 workers had not received their salaries in the past 3 months.

One solution that the Trade Union of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control plans to implement was mentioned by Mr. Tran Xuan Nhue: "In the near future, the Trade Union Executive Committee of the Department will have a written proposal to the Industry Trade Union and the Provincial Labor Federation to request policy research and contribute their voices to ensure legitimate rights for workers."