Regarding the suspension of contracts of 10 workers on a fishing control vessel: Step by step to overcome difficulties!

The fishing boat is still on shore.

The incident of 10 workers operating on fishing control vessels having their labor contracts suspended, leading to the suspension of fishing control work at sea, was reported by Nghe An Newspaper (from April 8-10, 2024) in the following articles: “Workers lose their jobs, ships are grounded, and fisheries inspection work at sea in Nghe An is paralyzed.”; “Leaders of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development have a headache when fisheries control activities are paralyzed.”; “The life story of a fishery inspector”.

On April 10, the Provincial People's Committee held a meeting with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. After hearing the report on the incident, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung acknowledged that this was a historical problem, but according to current regulations, it was not allowed to be resolved. Therefore, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung assigned the Department of Home Affairs to coordinate and guide the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to find a suitable solution that is not contrary to regulations.

As of April 22, according to the investigation, 2 fishing control ships and 2 speedboats were still on shore, so the fishing control work at sea was still paralyzed. According to the Head of the Fisheries Control Department, Tran Chau Thanh, through the hotline of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control, the department grasped the activities of fishermen at sea, thereby determining that the situation of illegal fishing was still happening.

When asked if the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control had any solutions to allow the 10 workers to continue working, thereby reorganizing fisheries control activities at sea, Mr. Thanh answered that the Fisheries Control Department only uses workers to perform professional tasks, while recruitment and labor contracts are the responsibility of the Department's leaders and superior agencies. However, the Head of the Fisheries Control Department also said that the Department has a temporary plan to sign short-term contracts with workers!

On the same day, when contacting the Chief Engineer of the fishing control ship KN 688 NA, Tran Hoang Minh, he was informed that he was still at home. Minh said: "Just now, the Sub-Department sent someone to contact me to ask and get information to see what I have done or not...".

Then he confided: “I have 22 years of working on a fishing control vessel. It can be said that my youth has been devoted to this job. Now that I am old, my professional work is very specific, so to be honest, finding a suitable job is also very difficult, unlike some of my younger brothers who still have the ability to work. I am very sad, but I don't know what to do... Even so, I think we should sympathize with the agency and the industry because at the meeting on April 10, 2024, with the participation of provincial leaders, the Department of Home Affairs also responded that it was due to regulations and no one wanted it to be like that...”.

Regarding the temporary handling of the Sub-Department as discussed by the Head of the Fisheries Control Department, Tran Chau Thanh, Mr. Tran Hoang Minh said he did not know about this content. However, according to Mr. Minh, signing such a short-term contract is not stable and does not guarantee long-term, so it is possible that workers who have not found a job will agree to work temporarily, but then they will quit.

Mr. Minh said: “Such short-term monthly contracts will result in the termination of the contract after a few months, or a year, and the employee will lose his job. The future is unclear, and the employees will not be able to work with peace of mind. Therefore, although it is very sad, I think the employees will accept to quit and find new jobs for stability…”.

Regarding his personal thoughts, Mr. Minh confided: “In the past, the 10 of us had hoped to be used again by the agency. Because our province has 82km of sea, the fisheries industry plays an important role in the economy, so we cannot abandon the work of fisheries inspection at sea. Meanwhile, operating a fisheries inspection vessel is very special, not everyone can meet the requirements. But if that is the case, then so be it. Although I love my job very much, and know that if I quit, it will be very difficult to find a new suitable job, but when the future is unclear, I have to quit…”.

Step by step to overcome difficulties

Update work informationagainst illegal fishing, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), to remove the "yellow card" warning of the European Commission (EC), it can be affirmed that this is the content that the Central Committee is very interested in.

For example, on November 4, 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued an official dispatch directing central ministries, branches and People's Committees of coastal provinces and centrally run cities to focus on implementing many urgent and key tasks and solutions.

In particular, the Prime Minister requested to ensure human resources, specifically: "Ensure resources, funding, arrange qualified and professional staff, promptly complete the work of overcoming shortcomings and limitations in the fight against IUU fishing; resolutely and strictly handle organizations and individuals who, for their own benefit, deliberately commit illegal acts that affect national interests and the country's image in the international arena".

On April 10, 2024, the Central Party Secretariat issued Directive No. 32-CT/TW on strengthening the Party's leadership in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and sustainable development of the fisheries sector.

One of the key and urgent tasks that the Secretariat requested to be implemented is: “Improving state management capacity in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; ensuring tools and means for inspection, examination and handling of violations by law enforcement forces at sea…”.

And in order for Directive No. 32-CT/TW dated April 10, 2024 to be effectively implemented, on the afternoon of April 22, the Central Party Secretariat held a combined in-person and online conference to disseminate and implement. Notably, at the provincial bridge, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu reported to the conference on the direction and implementation of the task of combating IUU fishing in Nghe An. The Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee pointed out the current difficulties of Nghe An, including the shortage and weakness of the provincial Fisheries Surveillance force; thereby recommending that the Central Government study and issue specific regulations on the provincial Fisheries Surveillance force as well as policies and regimes for this force.

Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu said: “Currently, the Fisheries Law and the Government Decree both state that the provincial Fisheries Surveillance force is proactively established by the province. However, the regime and policies of this force have not been clearly stated, so the province is facing difficulties.”

Connect with Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Xuan Hoc to discuss the above information and ask about the Department's solution to re-establish fisheries inspection work at sea. According to Mr. Hoc, the Department has assigned the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Inspection to sign short-term contracts with 10 workers; at the same time, it will also work with the Provincial State Treasury to resolve the salary issue for this force. Regarding the mood of workers on fishing inspection vessels when informed that they can only sign short-term contracts, Mr. Hoc said that this is the mentality of anyone in this situation.

Mr. Tran Xuan Hoc also affirmed that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is trying to resolve the issue in a way that ensures 10 workers can work stably on the fishing control vessel.

He said: “Due to regulations, it will not be possible to handle this issue completely soon. In the immediate future, the Department has directed the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control to sign short-term contracts with 10 workers to create jobs for them and ensure fisheries control work at sea. After that, the Department will direct the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control to reorganize, and any qualified workers will be recruited as civil servants, while the rest will be recruited under contract 111 (Labor contract according to Decree 111/2022/ND-CP). However, it will take time to implement this content. We have asked the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control to clearly state the Department's viewpoint to the workers...”.