The European Transport Federation (ETF) examines the new social clause in European fisheries agreements

This fisher from Guinea-Bissau protests: “Until now, in order to work on board a European vessel fishing in our waters under the fisheries agreement, a seafarer has to pay the shipowner’s agent.”

Some fishers say they have to pay up to €1,000 to be guaranteed a job on an EU vessel. Recently, representatives of Ivorian fishers on board European tuna vessels highlighted other abuses linked to the activities of local agents recruiting fishers: opacity in the setting and payment of wages, the absence of a copy of the contract given to the fisher before boarding, no registration or fictitious registration of the fisher in the national social security funds. For years, there have been numerous accounts showing that the use of these fishing agents is often a source of corruption and unethical practices.

These agents play an important role in facilitating industrial fishing operations in Africa. In the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPAs) between the European Union and African countries, the use of local agents by shipowners is required by the memorandum of understanding. The European Commission has therefore decided to modernise the “social clause” in SFPAs protocols, in particular to address concerns about corruption practices of certain agents. The new version of the text already appears in the tuna protocol agreement signed with Cape Verde.

“In the new protocol of EU-Cabo Verde SFPA, an entire chapter is devoted to the conditions under which non-European seafarers may be taken on board vessels flying the EU flag. A reading of these measures illustrates common corruption practices, particularly by fishing agents.””

In these protocols, an entire chapter – chapter VIII – is dedicated to the employment of fishers on board vessels flying the flag of an EU Member State. Some of the points in this chapter already existed in the previous version of the social clause, which has been included in fisheries agreements since 2014 at the initiative of the social partners, such as the number of seafarers from member countries of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) to be taken on board by shipowners or the requirement for basic training in safety at sea.

The main innovations in this new chapter include measures to ensure transparency, particularly in the payment of wages, which is often organised by a fishing agent. From now on, fishers must receive a payslip each time their wages are paid and, if they so request, proof of payment of their wages. The shipowner will receive a copy of the pay slip and proof of payment of wages.

With regard to these fishing agents chosen by the shipowners and referred to here as “private seafarer recruitment and placement services”, almost an entire page of the protocol details the measures that shall be put in place by the authorities of the partner country to supervise their activities.

A reading of these measures illustrates the corrupt practices they are supposed to combat. Thus, the authorities of the third country will ensure these agents from “using means, mechanisms or lists intended to prevent or deter fishers from engaging for work”, “charging fees for recruitment or placement of fishers be borne directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by the fisher", or “deducting from the remuneration of the fisher the payment or reimbursement of loans, goods or services provided prior to the fisher's engagement”.

According to International Transport Federation, nearly 90% of seafarers embarked on board EU vessels have their wages deducted by fisheries officers. Photo: Canva Pro.

Fishing agents are also expected to ensure that the employment of fishers complies with the measures of the agreement as well as the regulations governing the agreement, that the contract is drawn up in the language of the fisher and that the latter receives a signed copy of the contract.

ETF brings stakeholders together to discuss new clause

This new social clause, and its implementation, were the subject of a conference organised by the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) on 13 November, which brought together representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), as well as experts and stakeholders from the European fishing industry and civil society.

CFFA, which was invited to take part in a panel discussion at the conference, welcomed the advances made by this new social clause, while stressing the challenges of ensuring compliance with these new rules. The implementation of this chapter is essentially the responsibility of the competent authorities in the third country. However, some fishers have reported collusion between fishing agents and representatives of the local authorities, which raises questions about the real willingness of the authorities to control the agents with whom they are in cahoots to shamelessly exploit the fishers on board. The ETF representative said that 90% of non-national fishers on board industrial vessels have their wages deducted by the fishing agent.

The protocol to the EU-Guinean-Bissau agreement stipulates that the joint committee, which annually brings together representatives of both parties to monitor the implementation of the protocol, will “monitor compliance with the obligations set out.” This is hardly reassuring - there are other obligations in most protocols to fisheries agreements, notably in terms of transparency on total fishing effort, which are often not respected, and which, to our knowledge, have rarely, if ever, been the subject of a strong reaction from the EU during joint committees.

“For CFFA, the main challenge for this social clause remains implementation, which depends entirely on the competent authorities in the third country. Yet fishers often testify to collusion between fishing agents and the authorities.””

CFFA pointed out that one way of improving monitoring of the implementation of this new social clause would be to make the minutes of joint committee meetings public - this would enable citizens, both European and from the partner country, to see how this social clause is being implemented. In response to this proposal, the European Commission representative at the conference explained that a precedent exists in this area: in the case of free trade agreements signed by the EU with third countries, the reports of the joint committees are published. It is therefore incomprehensible that this is not the case for SFPAs.

CFFA also called for more focus on the training of fishers as part of sectoral support. The lack of training for fishers had been raised by Ivorian fishers: according to them, no qualified seafarers had embarked on EU tuna vessels since 2007. This situation naturally has an impact on wages, as the wages of ordinary seafarers are lower. Here too, transparency is essential. Reports on the use of sectoral support should be published, so that the public can assess how the training has been implemented. And since it also happens that, even if there are qualified fishers, they are still not taken on board, the reports should also mention whether the fishers who have benefited from it have subsequently been able to embark on European vessels. The fishing agents who recruit the crew sometimes show favouritism towards certain untrained people who pay them a bribe, sometimes to the detriment of better-trained fishers.

A transparent register of fishing agents

In the long term, to avoid the litany of clauses preventing specific corruptions by fishing agents, it would be worth considering promoting a register of certified fishing agents, whose tasks and rates would be clearly established, and enjoining vessels fishing under SFPAs to use those on the register exclusively. It would also be important for the social clause in SFPAs to include a mechanism enabling fishers to lodge complaints in the event of non-compliance with the rules on conditions of embarkation, employment and life on board negotiated under the SFPA, along the lines of what already exists in this area in certain Member States, such as France .

However, it is important to remember that many industrial vessels of European origin fish outside fisheries agreements or are reflagged in third countries and are therefore not subject to compliance with this social clause. How can we ensure that the fishers on these vessels benefit from the advances illustrated in the new social clause? Given that most of these vessels of European origin export to the European market, it is time to open a wider debate on the inclusion of social and environmental standards for the marketing of fisheries products in Europe, reflecting the EU's commitment to decent work and transparency.

In the conclusions of the ETF conference, Livia Spera, General Secretary of the ETF, stated that the agents in charge of recruiting fishers “must operate in a more transparent manner; and fishers must be paid directly by the owners of the vessels. Abuses must be severely punished: it is high time to ensure fair treatment for these essential workers.”

There is no better way to put it.

Banner photo: Workers on board a Turkish seiner. Illustration photo by Şahin Sezer Dinçer.

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