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  • #31
    UK retailers sign up to project to tackle human trafficking in thai fishing industry



    On 8 September 2014, a coalition of 10 UK retailers and seafood importers and IDH Sustainable Trade Initiative joined forces with Project Issara to launch a pilot project in Thailand to identify and address risks of human trafficking and labour abuses in their seafood supply chains.

    The private sector partners included retailers Asda, Marks and Spencer, The Co-operative Food, Sainsbury's, Tesco, and Waitrose, and seafood importers CP Foods UK, Lyons Seafoods, Sea-Farms, and Young's Seafood. The first step in the launch of the project was to engage top-tier Thai seafood exporters including CP Foods, Kingfisher, Seafresh, and Thai Union, who will in turn engage other local businesses in their supply chain including aquaculture farms, fishmeal plants, and fishing companies.

    A field team comprised of specialists from Anti-Slavery International and Emerging Markets Consulting will work with the businesses on an ongoing basis to assess and address risks in labour recruitment and management processes in the supply chain. Project Issara's multi-lingual migrant worker hotline and migrant community networks will ensure that migrant worker voices contribute to improvement plans.

    The pilot also includes a Victim Support Fund, which will provide resources for medical, psychosocial, legal, educational, and economic support for victims of labour abuses and trafficking who are identified. In line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (Ruggie Principles) and good practice in human rights impact assessment, this model of proactive private sector engagement will substantively engage migrant workers; enhance collaboration between business and civil society; ensure resources for victim protection and services; and, maintain ongoing, real-time visibility of labour situations in supply chains.

    This innovative public-private partnership will run through late 2015, and will provide a strong foundation for future action to expand good business practices and benefit the lives of thousands of migrant workers.

    UK retailers and seafood to launch a pilot project in Thailand to identify and address risks of human trafficking and labour abuses in their seafood supply chains.

    antislavery.org
    http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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    • #32
      Thailand promotes prawn industry to counter slavery row
      26 October 2014

      The image of Thailand's prawn industry is badly damaged by accounts of abuse of illegal immigrants held captive and forced into unpaid labour.
      AFP pic, October 26, 2014.

      Thailand went on a charm offensive in defence of its prawn industry this week, seeking to convince Europeans that it is responding to allegations of slavery and torture in its fisheries sector.

      The fishing industry accounts for 40% of Thai exports of food products and is a mainstay of the economy.

      But its image has been badly damaged by accounts of abuse of illegal immigrants held captive and forced into unpaid labour, sometimes on boats at sea for years on end without receiving any payment for their work.

      Thailand pulled out the stops for the SIAL international food fair outside Paris this past week, sending a delegation replete with officials from the labour and fisheries ministries, plus police and anti-human trafficking experts as well as industry leaders.
      They then travelled on to Brussels to lobby EU officials.

      "We don't deny there is a problem," said Foreign Ministry official Sarun Charoensuwan at a special seminar on the subject.

      "A lot of concrete measures are on their way."

      According to a June article by the British daily The Guardian, there is a lot to be done by Thailand's prawn industry, the world's largest, which sends about a quarter of its exports to the United States where they are known as shrimp, and 15% to Europe.

      The newspaper found the sector relies heavily upon fish meal, which was often supplied by ships using slave labour, to raise the prawns.

      It interviewed numerous escapees from ships, fishermen and ship captains who told of the trafficking of unsuspecting workers onto boats where they could end up being exploited for years. The workers had thought they were heading for factory or construction jobs in Thailand.

      They recounted 20-hour days and regular beatings for even those who worked hard, as well as torture and execution-style killings.

      A 2011 report by the International Organization for Migration found that labourers sold by traffickers to ship captains could end up spending years working on boats without pay or stepping on shore.

      France's Carrefour, the second-biggest retail group in the world, suspended its purchases of Thai prawns in June following the publication of the article in The Guardian.

      Seeking to protect the key industry and its global reputation, Thailand intends to solve the problem by "bringing illegal migrants into the formal labour market", according to Charoensuwan.

      Military leaders who took power in a coup in May have launched a vast programme to provide official papers to illegal immigrants.

      Official said that 1.4 million workers had been issued with papers, and that 50,000 of these work in the fishing industries.

      But hundreds of thousands more immigrants are estimated still to be working illegally.

      A new law requires managers of fishing companies to provide labour contracts and to respect minimum levels of pay and of time off. They are also banned from employing youngsters under 15 years old.

      Late last year, 178 companies in the Thai fisheries sector signed a charter of good practice, under the aegis of the government and the International Labour Organization.

      One of the signatories was Charoen Pokphand (CP) Foods, which used to supply international supermarket giants Walmart of the United States, Carrefour of France and British group Tesco.

      Activists are not satisfied with the results.

      "We were brought in for briefings, but we are really disappointed by the programme," said Andy Hall, a British labour rights activist who wrote a report alleging exploitation of workers in the Thai agriculture industry, for which he risks a prison term.

      He said workers and trade unions had been excluded from training conducted under the government-industry programme.

      "Nothing on the ground has changed", he said.

      hemalaysianinsider.com
      http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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      • #33

        Tanakorn Sangiam



        BANGKOK, 7 November 2014 (NNT)
        http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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        • #34
          said a Thai official.
          http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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          • #35
            Govt moves to relieve EU slavery panic
            Chananthorn Kamjan
            10/11/2014

            special report: Forced labour spurs mission to Paris to reassure importers

            State agencies and big-name traders are joining forces to restore the confidence of food importers in Europe, battered by allegations of human rights abuse and trafficking problems in the Thai seafood industry.


            Nopadol: EU sensitive about forced labour
            http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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            • #36
              Prisoners can opt to work on fishing boats
              22/11/2014

              Prisoners who have served most of their terms or are close to being released will be allowed to work on fishing boats to ease the problems of crowded jails and human trafficking.

              Justice permanent secretary Chatchawal Suksomjit said on Saturday eligible prisoners must also be physically fit and willing to work hard.

              Gen Chatchawal said he would discuss the programme's details with the chairman of the Fishing Boats Association.

              The programme will help ease Thailand's human trafficking problem since there are no middlemen to take advantage of labourers.

              Participation is voluntary. If a prisoner does not want to continue after working for a while, he may ask to switch jobs or work on land.

              Corrections director-general Vidhya Suriyawong said he had preliminary talks with the fishing boats association's chairman who want the prisoners to replace migrant workers.


              Prisoners who have served most of their terms or are close to being released will be allowed to work on fishing boats to ease the problems of crowded jails.
              (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)

              Authorities also asked executives at industrial estates if they wanted to join the programme, which will see prisoners working during the day and return to jails at night.

              The prisoners will earn incomes while being trained certain skills before their releases.

              Amata Industrial estate in Chon Buri is the first to accept the offer, he said.

              Prisons are overcrowded at present and Justice Minister Gen Paiboon Koomchaya wanted to designate some exclusively for drugs convicts.

              Of all 320,000 prisoners in 143 jails across the country, 70% or 200,000 are locked up in drug-related cases.

              A breakdown shows of all drugs prisoners, 100,000 are users or small dealers who should be separated from large dealers.

              The drugs database will be used to classify the drugs prisoners since the amount of evidence is not always an accurate indicator.

              Thairath Online also reported Gen Paiboon would propose to the cabinet the transfer of 48 jails close to communities to a complex in the suburbs.

              He will ask the Treasury Department to mobilise 15 billion baht for the project in the same manner the department financed Government Complex on state land.

              bangkokpost.com
              http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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              • #37

                December 11, 2014

                End Pervasive Abuse in Fishery Sector



                Brad Adams, Asia director
                http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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                • #38
                  Thai fishing operators ask US to review Thailand's status
                  December 11, 2014

                  Thai fishing operators associations on Thursday asked the United States to remove Thailand from its worst human trafficking watch list. Asean alien labour coordination center, take tough action against human traffickers, and import workers from other countries than Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam to prevent a labour shortage in the next two decades.

                  nationmultimedia.com
                  http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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                  • #39
                    Thailand struggles with dark side of vital fishing industry
                    Siraphob Thanthong-Knigh
                    25 December 2014


                    Thailand struggles with dark side of vital fishing industry


                    The world's third-largest exporter of fish and fishery products, Thailand, is facing something of a crisis for its international reputation.

                    The glamorous packaging of Thai seafood in supermarket fridges around the world stands in contrast to the picture that emerged this year of the industry's abuse of trafficked workers, including 20-hour shifts, beatings and deaths.

                    According to the International Labour Organiztion, nearly 17 per cent of workers on Thai fishing boats have experienced forced labour. In June, the United States downgraded Thailand in its annual human trafficking report after revelations of slavery in the supply chain of the shrimp industry.

                    "Withholding meals and lashing with iron rods" were widespread forms of punishment, said Sompong Srakaew of Seafarers Action Centre, an organization that helps victims. "Some boat workers witnessed the deaths of their fellow crew members."

                    The international outcry led the military government to announce a series of initiatives to shore up the reputation of its 8-billion-dollar fishing industry, which employs an estimated 300,000 people, although official figures are not available.

                    The most recent plan in November involved sending select prison inmates to work on fishing boats in return for good behaviour.

                    "Convicts can replace illegal migrant workers," said an official at the Department of Employment. "But this will be done on a voluntary basis."

                    "There is a significant labour shortage in the fishing industry because no one wants to work in a hard manual labour job that pays very little," the employment specialist explained, requesting not to be named.

                    On average, workers on fishing boats earn about 200 US dollars per month, less than half of the minimum wage on land.

                    The inmates plan was derided by rights groups in Thailand and abroad.

                    "It would be a human rights atrocity roughly equivalent to sentencing inmates to the death penalty since some boat workers go out and never return," said Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch (HRW).

                    Among other measures aimed at improving working standards, authorities are working on a database for boat and worker registration. The fisheries department is also working on a system to monitor fishing boats more closely.

                    Relevant ministries and departments have been directed draft law amendments to protect migrant workers and making the registration process easier for them.

                    "Our main focus is to fight human trafficking and illegal overseas fishing," said Viriya Sirichai-ekkawat, the president of the Thai Overseas Fisheries Association, part of a coalition of producers including Charoen Pokphand Foods, or CP Foods, Thailand's largest food export firm.

                    Such plans have not won over the industry's critics, who believe the problems of Thailand's huge fishing industry - in particular its reliance on illegal labour - may be too entrenched.

                    "The problem with the anti-trafficking effort in Thailand is that it too often remains on the policy level and is not implemented vigorously," said Annette Lyth, a regional project manager for the United Nations Action for Cooperation against Trafficking in Persons (UN-ACT).

                    "There is a significant labour demand in the industry that has not been met" by the legitimate labour market, Lyth explained. "Workers, mostly migrants, are brought by brokers to meet it."

                    HRW's Robertson agreed that the system seemed to be institutionalized. "Human trafficking appears to be a business model used on the fishing boats," he said.

                    Industry representatives say it would be impractical to increase the tracking of personnel.

                    "The owners of the boats usually don't know the origin of the workers," Viriya said. "Only boats going overseas will require documentation from workers," he added.

                    The European Commission, which in November warned Thailand about its efforts to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, said it was watching the country "very closely."

                    "The EU is still concerned about the serious allegations," said a representative of the European Union delegation in Thailand.

                    "Substantial progress is still needed on a number of important points, notably on enforcement, inspection and prosecution," she said.

                    The UN has also called for more to be done. "Although Thailand has taken some important steps forward in fighting trafficking, there is still room for improvements," Lyth said.

                    "We are not seeing significant progress," Robertson said of the government's recent efforts. "It is a failure in political will."

                    dpa-international.com
                    http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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                    • #40
                      Thailand fights forced labour on fishing boats with new regulation
                      12 January 2015


                      Thailand fights forced labour with new regulation


                      Bangkok (dpa) - Thailand will implement new regulations over concerns regarding forced labour on its fishing boats, a senior official said Monday.

                      Among the new regulations that will be put into place are at least 10 hours of rest per working day and 30 days of leave per year, and the registration of migrant workers and their families.

                      "These reforms are part of a much bigger plan to address human trafficking and labour exploitation," Don Pramudwinai, deputy minister of foreign affairs, said.

                      The regulations will be enforced within 60 days after approval by the National Legislative Assembly on Friday, he said.

                      Non-governmental organizations expressed doubts about whether the reforms will be would be implemented.

                      "Thailand has a long history of extortion and exploitation over migrant workers," said Amy Smith, director of Fortify Rights, a human rights organization in South-east Asia.

                      "Therefore we are sceptical if these regulations will be implemented and sustained."

                      Thailand is the world's third-largest seafood exporter, after China and Norway.

                      According to the International Labour Organization, nearly 17 per cent of workers on Thai fishing boats have experienced forced labour.

                      dpa-international.com
                      http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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                      • #41
                        Too little, too late... one wonders if the aim to improve workers' conditions or one's own image .
                        Originally posted by Ergenburgensmurgen;n186588
                        What are you talking about, I don't post on Teakdoor.


                        https://thailandchatter.com/core/ima...ies/giggle.gif

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                        • #42
                          NGOs rap Thai plan to put convicts to work on fishing boats
                          16 Jan


                          Migrant workers at the fishing port on Si Rae island, off Phuket, southern Thailand, June 13, 2009.

                          Photo: Barbara Walton/EPA Stronger Unions
                          http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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                          • #43
                            Forced labor on Thai fishing vessels
                            Farah Obaidullah
                            Farah Obaidullah is a Senior Oceans Campaigner with Greenpeace International.
                            19 January, 2015



                            UPDATE: Victory! One day after receiving our letter, the Thai government responded with complete withdrawal of their proposal, saying they "will not use prisoners on fishing vessels now or in the future."human trafficking and slaveryMarine wildlife is disappearing at an unprecedented rate, and there is only so much seafood to go around.TIP). It was a positive step, but we are far from addressing the problem at its core. In fact, things may well get worse with Thailand's recent proposal to allow prisoners to serve out part or their entire sentence on fishing vessels to make up for a labor shortage. These people are extremely vulnerable and will have no protection from abuse at sea. Thailand should be improving conditions onboard fishing vessels to attract workers voluntarily, rather than resorting to forced labor. Greenpeace Southeast Asia and over forty other organizations submitted a letter to the Thai government just yesterday voicing our concerns over this ludicrous proposition.

                            Pointing the finger at the Thai government alone is not enough. All of us have a responsibility to question where our seafood comes from. That cheap can of tuna you find yourself reaching for could come at a hefty social and environmental cost. Retailers and seafood producers alike have a responsibility as well. Ultimately, they supply the market and should make every effort to guarantee that our seafood is caught sustainably and fairly. Our briefing on Slavery and Labor Abuse in the Fishing Sector
                            http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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                            • #44
                              Burmese father & son trafficked three times in Thailand
                              NANG MYA NADI
                              27 January 2015


                              Pictured after their rescue from slavery on a Thai fishing boat: Maung Tun Tin, 45, and his son, Kyaw Naing Htay, 22.
                              http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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                              • #45
                                Thailand fails to tackle human trafficking and abuse - rights group - TRFN
                                Alisa Tang

                                BANGKOK, Feb 17 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Thailand's efforts to combat human trafficking in its multi-billion dollar fishing industry have been "wholly inadequate", and it has failed to end officials' involvement in trafficking and labour abuses, a rights group said.

                                The U.S. State Department last year downgraded Thailand to its "tier 3" list of worst offenders - alongside 22 other countries including North Korea, Iran and Central African Republic - in its annual ranking of countries by their counter-trafficking efforts.

                                While Thailand's military-backed government said last month it was "confident" it had met the minimum standards to improve its ranking, the London-based Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) said on Tuesday that the country was still failing to prevent trafficking and rights abuses in the fishing industry.

                                "Nothing that we have seen or heard in the last year indicates that Thailand has taken meaningful action to address the root causes of trafficking and abuse," EJF executive director Steve Trent said in a statement.

                                "The Thai government must take clear, significant and sustained steps to prevent and suppress human trafficking in the fishing industry."

                                EJF said in a briefing paper that Thailand was failing to enforce laws and crack down on corrupt officials involved in trafficking, and to identify victims of trafficking and forced labour aboard fishing vessels, even though it launched inspections at sea last year.

                                The government is also not protecting victims who have escaped or been rescued from modern-day slavery, EJF said, citing its interviews with victims who described threats at gunpoint and severe injuries from beatings by staff at government shelters designated to protect victims.

                                EJF pointed to media reports over the past year detailing Thai and Burmese trafficking victims being rescued, buying their freedom and swimming ashore after escaping from fishing boats.

                                It cited the Thai-language newspaper Thai Rath reporting in November a case of two Thai children, 13 and 15 years old, being rescued from forced labour aboard a vessel operating out of Ambon, Indonesia.

                                A month later, Thai Rath reported that exploited workers aboard a Thai-owned fishing vessel in Iran had contacted journalists to request government help to return home.

                                EJF said Thailand has also not addressed the unregulated industry of labour brokers, whom the private sector has cited as the main facilitators in trafficking and abuse of migrant workers.

                                "Based on these failures and the ongoing occurrence of systematic trafficking and abuse in the fishing industry throughout the last year, EJF strongly recommends that Thailand remain on tier 3 in 2015," EJF wrote in the paper, calling for the government to implement substantive action and reforms.

                                Thai officials contacted by phone and email did not immediately comment on the report.

                                trust.org
                                http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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