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The Acting General Secretary of the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurants, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers (IUF) has proposed the ratification of International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 188 standards to ensure decent work in the fisheries sector.
He said the seafood sector lacked robust global regulation, making it vulnerable to exploitation, adding that while national-level regulations existed, the industry's global nature and complex value chains create challenges for ensuring workers' rights.
Mr Bragason added that workers in the sector were often exploited by transnational companies, highlighting the need for stronger trade unions and better working conditions.
The acting General Secretary of IUF further stated that Africa showed varying levels of policy development, with countries such as Ghana making strides in promoting decent work, while others lacked such policies.
Mr Bragason was speaking at the IUF Africa Seafood Workers’ Division Conference in Accra on the theme: “Rising for African Fish Workers’ Dignity and Rights”.
It focused on identifying major issues and existing experience in organising fish workers. Its outcome is expected to formulate the regional focus of the IUF global fisheries and aquaculture policy and contribute to the ongoing activities for the development of international human rights and labour standards for fish workers.
At the conference, the General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU), Andrews Tagoe, emphasised the vital role the agriculture sector played in the country’s economic growth.
“The seafood sector is a vital lifeline for millions of households on our continent and indeed globally. It provides about 60 per cent of animal protein in the Ghanaian diet and is the main source of affordable protein.
“In 2024, Ghana's fisheries and aquaculture sector employed more than 2.5 million people,” he said.
According to him, this underscored how vital the sector is to the country’s economy and its employment landscape. He averred that women were central, especially in fish processing, smoking, marketing and sustaining households and communities.
He added that they contributed roughly 1.2 per cent to the national Gross Domestic Product and support rural and coastal economies. Anchored in tradition and culture, he said, fishing sustains community life along the coast, lakes and rivers.
Mr Tagoe lamented risks such as depletion of fish stocks, loss of lives, unsafe working conditions, meagre incomes, child labour, human and child trafficking, exploitation in fishing and seafood, that has characterised the sector.
This canker, he said, still haunted people in the industry in Africa, adding that they are working to ensure that “no child is trapped in fishing, no fisher works without dignity and no worker lives in fear and poverty”.
For her part, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Emelia Arthur, in a statement delivered on her behalf by the Director of Research, Statistics and Information Management, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Ishmael Brown, said although the sector was plagued with multiple challenges, the government was working to address them.
“Ghana has made notable progress in this regard. Our home-grown initiative, the Torkor Model, has become a reference point, demonstrating practical ways of eliminating child labour in fishing communities while at the same time improving the welfare of families.
“Furthermore, the passage of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Act, 2025 (Act 1146) marks a landmark achievement, providing a modern legal framework to strengthen the governance and management of our fisheries resources, promote aquaculture as a reliable pillar of food security and ensure compliance with international best practices,” she said.
