The Philippines has launched a new phase of its “Ship to Shore” program to improve working conditions for fishers and seafood workers, with backing from the European Union, according to the original press release. Government officials, unions, employers, and international partners met in Manila on June 4th to start the 2025-2028 work plan. The program focuses on making migration safer and work fairer across the fishing and seafood industry.
Thousands of Filipino fishers work on boats worldwide, but too many deal with dangerous working conditions, low wages, or get taken advantage of by the agencies that hire them. The Ship to Shore program wants to change this by bringing together government departments, fishing companies, and worker groups to create better protections.
Assistant Secretary Jerome Pampolina from the Department of Migrant Workers called the program “a timely and strategic initiative that aligns with our national priorities to protect and empower our sea-based workers.” The International Labour Organization’s Philippines director, Khalid Hassan, stressed the need for inclusive dialogue, saying the goal is creating “safer, fairer, and more sustainable conditions for all workers across the fish and seafood supply chain.”
The program has four main goals: getting Southeast Asian countries to work together better on labor migration, strengthening Philippine laws and policies (including ratifying international fishing work standards), helping recruitment agencies operate more fairly, and giving migrant workers better access to legal help and financial training. The program will work directly with Licensed Manning Agencies for Fishers, which are government-approved companies that send Filipino fishers overseas.
Participants agreed to meet again in June 2026 to check progress. The collaboration shows how government, industry, and worker groups can work together to protect people whose livelihoods depend on the ocean economy.
