Thailand has been taking more steps to reinforce its stance against human trafficking and forced labor within the seafood industry, according to the latest update from the Royal Thai Embassy.
Authorities confirmed that the Gig Peeling Shed – a focal point in an Associated Press report released earlier this month which detailed current labor abuses in Thailand – was shuttered as of 9 November 2015 following an inspection of the facility. Some 20 adult workers and 11 children were rescued from the facility during the inspection, having been identified as victims of human trafficking, reported the embassy. What’s more, the owner of the shed and three other individuals have been charged with several offenses, including those under anti-human trafficking, labor protection and factory laws.
A systematic approach has been assumed by the Thai government to help reduce vulnerabilities over time – for one, a new registration initiative that seeks to document illegal migrant workers from neighboring countries in fishing vessels and seafood processing facilities was launched as of 2 November 2015 and will last until 30 January 2016. Approximately 12,000 previously illegal migrant workers from Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia have registered as of 22 December.
The Thai government has also been working alongside the International Labor Organization (ILO) to raise labor standards in the country, revising seafood fishery labor protections to coincide ILO Convention: “The Thai Government and the ILO are now working to raise awareness of the business owners and build capacity of inspectors, especially on human trafficking and labor offenses in the fisheries sector,” according to embassy authorities.
Private sector responses have also come to the fore following the release of the AP report, noted the embassy: “The Thai Frozen Foods Association (TFFA) announced that, by the end of 2015, all of its members will bring all shrimp pre-processing operations in-house to ensure complete transparency and oversight. Any member who continues to source from external pre-processors will lose the membership and will not be able to export their products overseas. According to the Thai Commerce Ministry regulation, companies wishing to export shrimps to the United States must be members of the TFFA.”
