A/HRC/40/56 million small-scale fishery workers earn less than $1 per day. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights highlighted the high incidence of absolute poverty among smallscale fishers in the Philippines (E/C.12/PHL/CO/5-6, para. 45). 25. As many activities are seasonal, workers may only receive periodic income, and scheduled payments are reportedly made late or withheld entirely throughout the supply chain. Workers frequently receive far less remuneration than initially promised or expected. Employers of marine fishers deduct various on-board costs from wages, including for food, water and hygiene products. Such deductions may lead to “debt bondage”, especially for migrant workers who may owe an initial debt to recruiters. Some employers also delay the transfer of wages to fishers’ families once fishers are isolated at sea. 2. Working hours and quotas 26. Long hours of continuous, strenuous labour cause fatigue among workers and increase the likelihood of accidents. Fishers aboard commercial vessels reportedly work 14 to 16 hours per day, and in the most extreme cases up to 20 hours per day, taking only 2 hours of rest between shifts lasting 7 to 13 hours. Such schedules of work are contrary to international labour standards, which impose a minimum rest requirement of 10 hours in a 24-hour period and 77 hours in any seven-day period. 27. In aquaculture and seafood processing, average working time varies by region, but often exceeds recommended labour standards. ILO advised seafood processors in Thailand to limit working hours to 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week, and to cap overtime at 36 hours per week. 37 Yet, over 60 per cent of women surveyed at Thai shrimp processing facilities routinely work extensive overtime, earning such low wages that they remain severely food insecure.38 In Ecuador and India, aquaculture workers work up to 16 or 18 hours per day. 39 Use of drugs, such as amphetamines, is prevalent among workers, especially women in processing facilities, to help cope with the long working hours (CEDAW/C/LKA/CO/8, para. 40). 28. Employers may unilaterally impose quotas similar to those used in agriculture (A/73/164, para. 17), thus forcing workers to work longer hours just to meet minimum wage requirements. Women in Indonesia reported working unpaid hours or cutting breaks in violation of the local minimum wage law just to make shrimp peeling targets. 40 Quota systems are imposed on board vessels in conjunction with revenue-sharing among crew members, thus incentivizing excessive working hours to increase the communal catch. In France, for example, remuneration is usually based on a share of the revenue minus the operational costs of the vessel. A similar system is utilized throughout capture fisheries, including in commercial fisheries in the United States of America and by most artisan and coastal fisheries in Morocco.41 3. Limited collective bargaining 29. Collective bargaining is crucial for workers to improve their working conditions and ensure their right to food, yet fishery workers are often unable to exercise their right to freedom of association. Like agricultural workers, fishery workers work in remote and isolated settings that are not conducive to unionization (A/73/164, paras. 19–20). Even in less secluded work settings where workers can assemble more easily, such as seafood 37 38 39 40 41 ILO, “Good labour practices: guidelines for primary processing workplaces in the shrimp and seafood industry of Thailand”, pp. 9–10. Oxfam International and the Sustainable Seafood Alliance Indonesia, “Supermarket responsibilities for supply chain workers’ rights: continuing challenges in seafood supply chains and the case for stronger supermarket action”, June 2018, pp. 6 and 23–24. Environmental Justice Foundation, “Smash & grab: conflict, corruption and human rights abuses in the shrimp farming industry”, p. 22. Oxfam International and the Sustainable Seafood Alliance Indonesia, “Supermarket responsibilities for supply chain workers’ rights”, p. 6. Jordi Guillen and others, “Remuneration systems used in the fishing sector and their consequences on crew wages and labor rent creation”, Maritime Studies, vol. 16, No. 3 (February 2017). 7