Social Partners Urge EU to Uphold Labour Standards in International Fisheries

The European Social Partners for Sea Fisheries – ETF and Europêche – have raised serious concerns with Commissioners Costas Kadis and Roxana Minzatu over the European Commission’s approach to labour standards within Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs).

The Commission presented a draft proposal to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), which mirrors a text adopted by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), that falls short of the minimum protections set by the ILO Convention No. 188 (C188) on “Work in Fishing.” The Social Partners argue that such proposals undermine international standards, EU credibility, and the level playing field in global fisheries.

ETF and Europêche already criticised the Commission’s “stepping-stone” approach in a previous letter to DG MARE, and again at the June meeting of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee: this strategy endorses substandard interim measures under the guise of gradual progress toward C188. We warned that this tactic risks normalising inadequate protections for fishing crews and undercuts existing international conventions, including STCW-F safety standards.

Among the key points:

• C188 is a minimum baseline, and anything below it is unacceptable.
• Proposals falling short of C188 weaken both the ILO and the EU’s Oceans Pact commitments.
• Poor standards could be used by third countries to avoid full compliance.
• The EU should leverage its market power to promote – not compromise – decent work.
• Social Partners must be properly consulted on labour-related policy proposals.

The letter concludes with a call for immediate action: ensuring no EU-endorsed international standards fall below C188, aligning all external actions with internal laws, involving DG EMPL, and restoring meaningful dialogue with Social Partners.

We reaffirm our commitment to cooperation but stress that any dilution of international labour standards in fisheries is unacceptable.

 

ETF and Europêche letter March

European Commission reply

ETF Europêche letter July