Thailand promotes prawn industry to counter slavery row
AFP | Sunday 10/26/2014

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 percent 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 percent 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 twenty-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.

- 'Nothing has changed' -

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.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2014-10-26

Thailand, always talk! This happens in every sector of society! No change.

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.

Oh, someone signed a paper. Is all good now.

How come that Thailand always react only after their earnings are threatened??

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.

From the same article:

"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.

Looks like Thailand still has a way to go on the convincing front....................

Edited October 26, 201411 yr by fab4

Don't worry people,all will be explained in a clear concise manner by jdasia,jtj and cronies.You expat sceptics are so out of touch with Utopia ( Thailand ).

Thais talk the talk but never walk the walk. All international companies should follow Carrefour's lead and ban all Thai seafood products indefinitely. Until Thais show real action arrests, and programs with enforcement and managerial control to curtail this despicable slave trade. All the Thai tax payer money wasted on these sales pitch trips for all these Thais to travel to Europe to "charm" and "pitch" who are part of the problem and not the solution

let's sell more prawns to prove there's no slavery ?

Oh. I thought Thailand didn't need Europe? All of a sudden they realize they do need the rest of the world?

.

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

A little bit off topic. Just wondering how that will be, once ASEAN pops in.....

Thailand promotes prawn industry to counter slavery row

Typo?

All Talk No action NO CHANGE

Where is andy hall now ???

Edited October 26, 201411 yr by bapoboy

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

In other words, we are mulling over ideas which we will think about implementing, real soon now. Trust us, we would not Thai to you.

Thailand...the hub of prawnography?

Hardcore prawn?

I had a guy who lived in Thailand for many years tell me that when a Western baby is born it cries, and when a Thai baby is born it lies.

How come that Thailand always react only after their earnings are threatened??

Coz as long as tge earnings are not threathened ... why change

To Thais it is not broken until someone finds out

Thailand promotes prawn industry to counter slavery row

Typo?

I think they are serious, damn farlang media saying what actually goes on with the bought slaves that were sold by (officialdom).

An off topic post has been removed.

Thais talk the talk but never walk the walk. All international companies should follow Carrefour's lead and ban all Thai seafood products indefinitely. Until Thais show real action arrests, and programs with enforcement and managerial control to curtail this despicable slave trade. All the Thai tax payer money wasted on these sales pitch trips for all these Thais to travel to Europe to "charm" and "pitch" who are part of the problem and not the solution

I think your rear view mirror may have to be adjusted.

The present Government has only been in power 5 months. That is about the time it would take to list the mess they inherited. Before any thing happens you must talk. At the end of the year we will be able to look back and see the results. My money says they will have done some walking. I am waiting to see. Not dumb enough to think all they have to do is say abera ka dabra and the situation is fixed.

Try a little common sense and patience.

.

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

A little bit off topic. Just wondering how that will be, once ASEAN pops in.....

They don't count as most of them are Thai Visa posters.

Well now they are in the picture and for sure they will stay in the picture for some years. They better change it fast or it will be all over the european newspapers again. Thailand is loosing face rapidly.

Promoting the prawnindustry won't help, also the prawns are far to expensive anyway. Europeans prefer wild prawns, not the ones full of chemicals and medicines from uneducated thai prawnfarmers.

Thais talk the talk but never walk the walk. All international companies should follow Carrefour's lead and ban all Thai seafood products indefinitely. Until Thais show real action arrests, and programs with enforcement and managerial control to curtail this despicable slave trade. All the Thai tax payer money wasted on these sales pitch trips for all these Thais to travel to Europe to "charm" and "pitch" who are part of the problem and not the solution

I think your rear view mirror may have to be adjusted.

The present Government has only been in power 5 months. That is about the time it would take to list the mess they inherited. Before any thing happens you must talk. At the end of the year we will be able to look back and see the results. My money says they will have done some walking. I am waiting to see. Not dumb enough to think all they have to do is say abera ka dabra and the situation is fixed.

Try a little common sense and patience.

And they have no credibility either since it was a coup de ta taken over by the gun

Thais talk the talk but never walk the walk. All international companies should follow Carrefour's lead and ban all Thai seafood products indefinitely. Until Thais show real action arrests, and programs with enforcement and managerial control to curtail this despicable slave trade. All the Thai tax payer money wasted on these sales pitch trips for all these Thais to travel to Europe to "charm" and "pitch" who are part of the problem and not the solution

I think your rear view mirror may have to be adjusted.

The present Government has only been in power 5 months. That is about the time it would take to list the mess they inherited. Before any thing happens you must talk. At the end of the year we will be able to look back and see the results. My money says they will have done some walking. I am waiting to see. Not dumb enough to think all they have to do is say abera ka dabra and the situation is fixed.

Try a little common sense and patience.

And they have no credibility either since it was a coup de ta taken over by the gun

Doesn't matter who the government is,they are Thai born and bred with the same mindset.

how does selling more prawns stop slavery again?

Any prosecutions? No, as always.

Nothing is done, nothing has changed....hopefully more countries would stop importing thai prawns.

Where is andy hall now ???

schanghaite to work in slavery for the rest of his life on a Thai fish trawler.

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.

Oh, someone signed a paper. Is all good now.

And "under the aegis" uh duh gubmints! If it's anyfing tuh doo wiff an aegis, then, why that's just the bee's knees, and I'm strummin fee fie fiddley eye oh and havin a tap dance all the way back to massa's skrimp farm on duh boat back to Bangkok! Yass suh, it's under the aegis now!

"We're aware of the problem" just isn't enough, much to their disbelief. It is just not in their cognitive/cultural mindset that someone would give a darn about another person being in slavery. "If I profit or my family not in hardship, so what?". Those poor slaves are just prawns in the game..... sorry...