The third court hearing in the You-Fu civil case is scheduled to be held at the Pingtung District Court, Taiwan, on Tuesday, 31 March 2026. This litigation, brought by eight Indonesian migrant fishers against fishing vessel company You-Fu, seeks to hold the company accountable for underpaid wages and alleged forced labour. It is Taiwan’s first legal challenge to the exclusion of foreign migrant fishers from domestic labour protections, making it a test case for the government’s commitments under the recently signed Taiwan–US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, which commits to equal labour protections for foreign migrant workers in the distant water fishery sector in Taiwan.
The eight plaintiffs were working aboard the You-Fu distant water fishing vessel from 2023 to 2024. Over the course of approximately 15 months, they were not paid, subjected to excessively long working hours, inadequately fed, and had their identity documents confiscated, amounting to indicators of forced labour. Following media exposure of these abuses, the company paid the outstanding wages, though at a rate below the minimum wage under Taiwan’s Labour Standards Act (LSA), which applies to all workers performing work within Taiwan’s territory, regardless of nationality. The plaintiffs filed suit on 12 September 2024, with the support of Taiwanese lawyers and civil society organisations.
The plaintiffs argue that migrant fishers working aboard Taiwan-flagged distant water fishing vessels fall within the scope of the LSA, as their employment was performed within Taiwan’s territory — the fishers had entered Taiwan, signed their employment contracts in Kaohsiung and worked on a vessel flying the Taiwanese flag. In its earlier repayment of outstanding wages, the company paid only US$550 (around NT$17,800) per month, below the statutory minimum wage of NT$26,400 and 27,470 applicable in 2023 and 2024.
The plaintiffs have also called for broader reform of safety standards and labour protections for migrant workers across Taiwan’s distant water fishing sector.
Last week, the claimant fishers brought their experiences before industry at the 2026 Seafood Expo North America (SENA) in Boston, the US. They called for stronger labour protections and grievance mechanisms in the global seafood supply chain and advocated for enforceable accountability mechanisms linking fishing vessels to seafood brands.
What to Expect at the Third Hearing
The upcoming court hearing will be the first hearing of a newly assigned judge, following two previous changes of the presiding judge. This session is expected to serve as a review of the case and the parties’ legal arguments. We welcome continued public and media attention to this case as it proceeds.
For further background and updates on the case, visit the dedicated You-Fu Case page on the Taiwan Project for Business and Human Rights website, available in Traditional Chinese.
