Thailand's seafood industry: state-sanctioned slavery?

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Portrait of slavery: Teenager facing life alone in Myanmar

Portrait of slavery: Teenager facing life alone in Myanmar
Dec 17


AP Photo/Dita Alangkara

SAMUT SAKHON, Thailand (AP) -- For the past year, The Associated Press has investigated slave labor in Thailand's $7 billion seafood export industry, resulting in the freeing of more than 2,000 fishermen. This week, the AP came out with another investigation looking at slavery in shrimp processing sheds in Thailand.

This is the story of one of those victims:

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Shortly after police raided the Gig Peeling Factory last month for labor abuses, undocumented child workers were taken to a corner of the shed where they squatted on wet concrete slick with slime from the shrimp they had peeled.

When they were told they would be separated from their parents, many children started to cry, including 16-year-old Eae Hpaw. Her eyes were red and swollen, and fear filled her face as she talked to her mother. Other children hugged their parents and looked uncertain about what would happen next.

Ten children were taken to a government shelter for human-trafficking where a Burmese diplomat told them they had to stay there, possibly for years, or get deported back to Myanmar.

"I don't have parents in Myanmar to go back to," said Eae Hpaw. "I have no one there. My parents and my relatives are all here. My parents were also in the shrimp shed."

The children argued they wanted to stay in Thailand with their families, but ultimately relented after they were told that wasn't an option.

All 10 children remained in the shelter Wednesday, according to a local labor rights group.

ap.org

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EU warns Thailand to address slavery, rights issues in fish industry highlighted in AP probe
Raf Casert
Dec 18, 2015

BRUSSELS

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Saturday, December 19th, 2015


Government Spokesman Maj Gen. Sansern Kaewkamnerd speaks to the press in Bangkok
.
BANGKOKAssociated Press reportwake-up call

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CCCIF dismisses news reports of ''slave labor'' at shrimp factory
Tarin Angskul

BANGKOK, 19 December 2015 (NNT)

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Fishing operators cry foul
PRATCH RUJIVANAROM, PETCHANET PRATRUANGKRAI, JITRAPORN SENWONG
December 21, 2015

30275338-02_big.jpg


Large firms say new rules harm business; local fishermen still poorly informed

THE NEW Fisheries Emergency decree endorsed by the National Legislative Assembly last week has been strongly criticised by small and large operators, but the government insists it will strictly enforce the law to solve the country's illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing problems.

Sek Wannamethee, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said the European Union was expected to send a delegation to Thailand next month to follow up on the authorities' progress in tackling IUU issues after a "yellow card" warning was issued against Thailand earlier this year.

Vice Admiral Jumpol Lumpikanon, spokesman for the Command Centre for Combating Illegal Fishing, said strict enforcement of the new law should encourage the EU to upgrade Thailand's status in terms of IUU issues.

Somsak Paneetatyasai, president of the Thai Shrimp Association, said government agencies and private enterprises were also seriously tackling the problem of forced labour and child labour in the fisheries industry, especially with regards to a recent Associated Press report on small shrimp-peeling sheds in Samut Sakorn using forced labour.

He said these small operators would be removed from the supply chain immediately if they were found to have used forced labour and child labour, adding that larger enterprises which were members of his association had agreed to take action against these illegal practices.

The new fisheries law includes penalties that will lead to a factory being shut down if it is found to have used illegal workers.

Article 11 of the law states that factories are subject to business suspensions of between 10 and 30 days if they are found to employ less than five illegal workers. If the number of illegal workers exceeds five, the factories concerned will be shut down for an extended period and repeated wrongdoing will lead to the nullification of factory licences.

While Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has expressed support for officials enforcing the law strictly, small local fishermen and large fisheries businesses have complained that the law affects their rights and the punishments are too severe for business operators.

Agriculture and Cooperatives Min-ister General Chatchai Sarikalya said Thailand needed the new law because the previous Fisheries Act 2015 could not solve the IUU problems efficiently while monitoring and controlling measures were absent for fishing activities in Thai and international waters.

However, Monkol Sukcharenkana, vice president of Thailand Fisheries Association, said some articles of the new law such as Article 11 were too severe, as processing plants could be closed if illegal foreign workers were found on their premises.

Resources at risk

Monkol said Article 169 of the law allowed authorities to seize fishing equipment and fishing vessels when violations of the law occur.

"This can hurt our business," he said, adding that Article 44, which bars the trading of fishing vessels and fishing licences, also violated the rights of fisheries business owners.

Banjong Nasae of the Thai Sea Watch Association said the decree was not aimed at preserving marine resources, but it would have negative impacts on the fishing industry.

"This law bans local fishermen, which consist of 80 per cent of all fishing vessels, from fishing beyond the territorial waters, about three nautical miles up to 12 nautical miles from the shore," Banjong said, in reference to Article 34.

"Therefore, this allows the majority of local fishermen to fish within only less than five per cent of the coastal areas of the country, while opening up opportunities for more than 90 per cent of the areas to the big operators."

He said many traditional fishing activities needed to go beyond the territorial sea but these activities, such as trawling for crabs, could now not be done under the threat of heavy penalties.

Authorities admit glitches

"The law also requires all local fishermen to have a fishing licence from the authorities and it does not allow the unregistered fishing vessels to operate," he said. "This rule seems to be very good but in practice it is very problematic to the local fishermen who mostly own small rafts and boats which are not registered."

Banjong said the law was drafted only to help the big seafood industry avoid trade sanctions, with the government imposing very strict measures just to pass the EU standard for solving IUU problems.

He said there was no public participation in the drafting of the law, so many local fishermen did not know or understand the new fishing rules. This would cause them more problems rather than preserve the marine supply sustainably.

Last Friday, there was a conflict in Pattani when officials tried to arrest local fishermen for violating the fishing rules. The officials were attacked and had to abort their mission.

Government Spokesman Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the prime minister was informed of the incident, and he encouraged officials to continue enforcing the law strictly while calling on local authorities to help affected fishermen by providing them with compensation and finding alternative jobs for them.

Vice Admiral Jumpol of Command Centre for Combating Illegal Fishing said the strict measures would help upgrade the country's fishing standards.

However, he admitted doing so would take some time since the country had not imposed controls on the use of fishing equipment for a long time.

He said Thailand had complied with 13 EU suggestions on fishing practices and was ready for the next EU inspection in January.

Somsak of the Thai Shrimp Association said all operators in the seafood supply chain had to comply with the new law and warned factories that they risked closure if the authorities found illegal workers on their premises.

Under the new law, the use of illegal labour is subject to fines of between Bt400,000 and Bt800,000 per case, while factory operators are also subject to imprisonment of up to two years.

For shrimp peeling sheds, Somsak said, there were now about 50 operators registered with authorities to ensure they followed the guidelines on good practices, while the rest had been encouraged to register.

nationmultimedia.com

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December 20, 2015



http://www.seattletimes.com/life/foo...was-published/

the above maybe true HOWEVER the following is from 2009 .

http://www.progress.org/2009/slave.htm

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Thai government says it's not ignoring shrimp sheds slavery
NATTASUDA ANUSONADISAI
December 21, 2015


In this Monday, Nov. 9, 2015, file photo, Thai soldiers search a room at the workers' living quarters during a raid on a shrimp shed in Samut Sakhon, Thailand. Thailand's government said on Monday, Dec. 21, 2015, that it is not ignoring the prevalence of slavery and forced labor in its lucrative shrimp industry that was highlighted in an Associated Press investigation published last week.
Dita Alangkara, File AP Photo


In this Monday, Nov. 9, 2015, file photo, Burmese workers are escorted by soldiers and police officers as they leave a shrimp shed after a raid conducted by Thailand's Department of Special Investigation in Samut Sakhon, Thailand. Thailand's government said on Monday, Dec. 21, 2015, that it is not ignoring the prevalence of slavery and forced labor in its lucrative shrimp industry that was highlighted in an Associated Press investigation published last week.
Dita Alangkara, File AP Photo

In this Monday, Nov. 9, 2015 photo, Thai soldiers and a member of the Department of Special Investigation wake up a worker during a raid on a shrimp shed in Samut Sakhon, Thailand. Thailand's government said on Monday, Dec. 21, 2015, that it is not ignoring the prevalence of slavery and forced labor in its lucrative shrimp industry that was highlighted in an Associated Press investigation published last week.
Dita Alangkara, File AP Photo

BANGKOK Thailand's government said Monday it is not ignoring the slavery and forced labor in its lucrative shrimp industry that was highlighted in an Associated Press investigation published last week.

Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd, flanked by several police and navy officials, held a news conference specifically to address issues raised by the AP report.

Sansern said the government was already aware of slavery in the industry before the AP report was released Dec. 14. "Authorities found it first," he said.

Kornchai Klaiklung, the head of the anti-human trafficking wing of the police, said "a number of things including the report about debt-bound laborers interest us and we are looking into it and will prosecute them (the culprits).

Thailand is one of the world's biggest shrimp providers and its seafood export industry is estimated to bring in about $7 billion annually.

The AP report revealed the widespread use of undocumented migrant laborers, many from neighboring Myanmar.

Many of these laborers end up being tricked or sold into shrimp-peeling sheds where they are forced to work 16-hour days with no time off and little or no pay for sometimes years at a time. Some end up locked inside. Others are allowed to go out, but only if they leave their children or spouse behind as a guarantee against running away.

A day after the AP report, Thiraphong Chansiri, the president of Thai Union, one of the world's biggest seafood exporters, expressed frustration and promised change. He said the AP investigation should be a "wake-up call" to the industry. Many exporters have bought shrimp from, or outsourced peeling work to, smaller operators who have less oversight.

At the news conference Monday, government officials did not deny the existence of forced labor but disputed parts of the story, especially the AP's assertion that police took bribes and turned a blind eye to the practices in the industry.

"This is not true," Sansern said without elaborating. He said Thailand could not have become one of the top shrimp exporters in the world with the use of slave labor alone.

"There are a number of criteria needed to become leader in the field such as quality of the product ... not just cheap labor alone."

The AP stood by its report, which was part of a series of investigations this year into slavery in the fishing industry in the region. More than 2,000 trapped fishermen were freed earlier this year from an island in Indonesia as a result of the AP's work. The reports also have led to a dozen arrests, millions of dollars' worth of seizures and proposals for new federal laws.

"We stand firmly behind our reporters' coverage, which has been scrupulous, thorough and fair," said Paul Colford, an AP vice president and director of media relations. "Their stories exposing the enslavement of workers in the Southeast Asian fishing industry have been a source of great pride throughout The Associated Press."

newsobserver.com

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Thai Seafood Exports Not Affected by Slavery Reports, Govt Says

Bangkok. Thailand said on Monday seafood exports to the United States, Europe and Australia have not been hit by reports of slavery and forced labor by campaign groups and media.

The comments come as Thailand, the world's third-largest seafood exporter, faces increasing pressure to crack down on illegal fishing or face the risk of bans on its fish exports and to investigate accusations of slavery in its seafood industry.

Thailand has come under fire from rights groups over allegations of trafficking, abuse and exploitation on its fishing boats, following investigations by media and campaign groups.

"Australia's seafood importers told us that even though there are problems they would continue buying seafood because Thailand is trying to really resolve the human trafficking problem," Songsak Saicheua, head of the foreign ministry's Department of American and South Pacific Affairs, told reporters.

The government had checked more than 100 seafood processing plants and shut down one since April, he said.

"America, Europe and Australia have confidence in importing frozen seafood from us," Songsak said.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact the US and Australian embassies in Bangkok for comment. The European Commission declined to comment.

Last month, British-based rights and environment group Environmental Justice Foundation released a report after a three-year investigation into slavery on Thai fishing boats, saying it had uncovered a well-oiled system of trafficking, abuse and exploitation of fishermen, many of them migrants from Thailand poorer neighbors, Myanmar and Cambodia.

That followed a report by Swiss food giant Nestle that slave labor was used in its Thai seafood supply chain, adding to calls to clean up the billion dollar industry dogged for years by allegations of abuse.

The European Union will decide next year whether to ban fish imports from Thailand after it issued Thailand a warning in April for failing to crack down on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

Thailand said on Sunday it had worked closely with the EU in rectifying the problem, adding that an EU delegation is due to visit Thailand in January.

jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com

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Thailand Faces Seafood Boycott amidst Slavery ReportBipartisan Support
U.S. Ambassador Investigated lese majeste

[Mid]

Is Thailand doing enough to stop slavery in its fishing industry?
A fisherman from Myanmar climbs out of a fishing trawler after returning to port in the Gulf of Thailand in Samut Sakhon Province, west of Bangkok, on 3 September 2013.
(AP/Sakchai Lalit, File)

The murder was just one of many that Soe Min and other undocumented migrant Burmese fishers recounted to me in 1998 when I was making a series of documentaries for the International Federation of Transport Workers (Abandoned, Not Forgotten) and Al Jazeera (Murder at Sea).

At the time Soe Min and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of other runaway fishers were eking out a feral existence, surviving on roots and the kindness of strangers, in the interior forests of the remote Tual and Benjina islands, off the coast of Papua New Guinea.

Some of these men have since made it home to Myanmar. Yet to this day hundreds remain trapped in their very own version of hell in the Pacific.

But last month it would appear that the international campaignBBC, Associated PressObserver

raft of measures

Facing the December deadline of an EU boycott of all Thai seafoodUndocumented migrant workers
Equal Timespoverty wages and political repression

Equal Times.
utterly unacceptable

On 4 November, Greenpeace Southeast Asia released a report on their three-year investigation into human rights violations in the fishing industry in Indonesian waters.

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Fishing Trap: Enslaved on the High Seas

Published on Oct 13, 2015
They thought they accepted high paying jobs. Instead, they found themselves trapped at sea in dangerous and maddening surroundings.

Radio Free Asia official site: http://rfa.org

youtube.com

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Shrimp shed owners deny worker abuse
31/12/2015

SAMUT SAKHON: External shrimp-peeling shed owners in Samut Sakhon have denied claims made in a recent Associated Press (AP) report about labour abuses in their businesses.

They also urged the Thai Frozen Foods Association (TFFA) to review its decision to stop buying processed shrimp from external sheds to reduce the risk of being accused of illegal labour practices.

The TFFA's recent move hurts all stakeholders in shrimp production, including owners who strictly follow the law and the workers in particular, Akhom Krueawan, president of the Samut Sakhon Seafood Processing Club said on Tuesday.

He was addressing 50 shrimp-peeling shed owners at a meeting in Samut Sakhon's Mahachai Muangthong community hall.

"I fully support and am ready to work with the government to stamp out human trafficking and illegal practices in the shrimp industry. Not all of us violate the law," Mr Akhom said.

The association's decision not to use independent shrimp-peeling sheds has forced many to close down, he said.

From tomorrow, all TFFA members will process shrimps in-house so they have full control over the working conditions of employees in the supply chain.

The move comes in response to the AP report which made claims about forced labour in the shrimp industry.

Any members who continue to buy shrimp from external shrimp-peeling sheds will have their membership revoked and be barred from exporting shrimp products, according to a TFFA statement.

The association plans to offer jobs to affected shrimp processing workers with its members.

TFFA president, Poj Aramwattananon, who also attended Tuesday's meeting, said the association stands by its decision.

If the TFFA does not take this seriously a European ban is likely and Thailand would remain on the lowest tier in the next US Trafficking in Persons report, he said.

bangkokpost.com

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CCCIF ready to report progress on illegal fishing prevention to EU in January

BANGKOK, 31 December 2015 (NNT)-Members of the Command Center for Combating Illegal Fishing (CCCIF) have proposed twelve means of eliminating illegal fishing in Thailand.

CCCIF Spokesperson Vice Admiral Jumpol Lumpikanon, claims the twelve proposals will strengthen control of the fishing industry. They include requiring a boat operator to keep a logbook on board once the registration system is fully functional, and asking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to oversee the employment of migrant workers.

Representatives of the European Union (EU) will visit Thailand in January to observe progress in the prevention of illegal fishing. The Spokesman said the Thai government will be able to clarify pending issues with the EU; namely, a human trafficking prevention initiative and a move to legislate relevant laws.

The Cabinet has already approved a budget of 215 million baht to buy fishing boats from fishermen affected by stricter fishing regulations. They will be used to construct artificial reefs to restore the ecosystem in Thai waters.

Fishermen are now also able to seek low interest rate loans from the Government Savings Bank if they wish to buy legal fishing equipment and for the expense of maintaining their boats.

thainews.prd.go.th

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Migrants risk being "sold" as Thai shrimp industry cleans supply chain - activist
(Reporting by Alisa Tang, editing by Tim Pearce. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org)


In this file 2007 photo, Tae (C), a 13-year-old girl from Myanmar, peels shrimp at a factory in Samut Sakhon, nearly 40 km (25 miles) south of Bangkok.
REUTERS/Adrees Latif

BANGKOK, Jan 21 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Migrant workers in Thai shrimp peeling sheds rife with labour violations are being laid off with no compensation, putting them at risk of being "sold" to other employers as seafood companies scramble to clean up their supply chains, an activist said.

Thailand's large seafood industry - with annual exports to the European Union alone estimated at $641 million to $813 million - has come under a barrage of bad publicity, with NGO and media reports detailing slavery, human trafficking and other labour violations both on land and at sea.

The government and industry have introduced a slew of measures in response to the criticism.

The Thai Frozen Food Association (TFFA) - an industry group of major exporting companies - announced last month its members would bring shrimp peeling in-house "to reduce the risk of any illegal labour practices in the Thai shrimp supply chain".

TFFA President Poj Aramwattananont dismissed activists' concerns and the "crazy news causing problems" for the industry.

Poj said TFFA had worked out agreements with workers at about 50 of the peeling sheds used by its members, but still had to resolve issues with eight others.

"We have been working on resolving this problem since the beginning of this year. The workers at the sheds have been taken care of, given new jobs and compensated," Poj said by telephone on Thursday.

Seafood giant Thai Union Group announced this week it was hiring 1,200 workers previously employed at external shrimp peeling sheds to work in its factories.

But activists say many migrants in the peeling sheds are being laid off with no warning or compensation, while many are still in debt to brokers and employers.

"It's unacceptable the way they've handled it. We heard from the workers that they got absolutely no compensation. They just got moved to another workplace, and this is very risky behaviour," activist Andy Hall told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Thursday.

COMPENSATION OBLIGATORY

By law, employers must compensate laid-off workers who have been employed four months or longer with one month's salary, or up to a year's wages for those employed six years or longer.

"These workers are in debt bondage, and if the shrimp shed closes, and they're indebted to brokers and employers, then they can be sold on," Hall said.

The U.S. State Department downgraded Thailand in 2014 to its "tier 3" of worst offenders for human trafficking, while the European Union gave it a "yellow card" in April for failing to clamp down on problems in its fishing industry.

An EU delegation is visiting Thailand this week to assess the country's progress in battling illegal and unregulated fishing.

The London-based Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) welcomed the TFFA's move to stop using shrimp peeling sheds, but urged companies to offer in-house employment to workers in the subcontracted sheds.

"This shortening of the supply chain should provide a welcome improvement in transparency and should also end the culture of very poor working conditions when subcontracted out," ETI's food and farming expert Nick Kightley said in a statement.

Beyond peeling sheds, Thailand has problems on shrimp farms and hatcheries, which are often located in remote areas, beyond the reach of civil society organisations, Hall said.

At a recent meeting with shrimp farm owners, he said he heard many shrimp farmers defending the confiscation of passports "to prevent them from getting their passports wet"; bans on workers leaving farms to stop theft; and long working hours to ensure shrimp are fed at the right times.

news.trust.org

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Gen Prawit says EU satisfied and gives Thailand more time to address IUU fishing