In rare demand, migrants push for better pay, benefits at Thai seafood firm

by Alisa Tang | Thomson Reuters Foundation

 

Migrant fishermen from Myanmar sort the catch after returning from the ocean to Ban Nam Khem in this archive picture from 2014. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

 

BANGKOK, Jan 31 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - More than 2,000 migrant workers at a major Thai seafood exporting company have called for bigger bonuses and better welfare benefits, a rare demand in a country that bars foreigners from forming trade unions, a rights group said.

 

Seven migrant workers from Myanmar submitted the request on behalf of more than 2,000 migrant workers to the government's labour protection and welfare office and to Unicord PCL, a leading tuna processor, said the Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN), which supported the effort.

 

"We believe this negotiation will be successful and lead to a trickle-down effect where other employees will be empowered and feel confident to organise and collectively bargain to make demands of their employers," said Andy Hall, co-founder of MWRN.

 

"They will realise the power they have as employees. Workers are powerful human beings."

 

Thailand has come under fire in recent years for worker exploitation and abuses against its migrant labourers - the vast majority from neighbouring Myanmar.

 

Many workers pay exorbitant agent fees to be smuggled into Thailand for dangerous and demeaning jobs, earning salaries below the minimum wage.

 

Thailand has pushed through policies in an effort to combat human trafficking and forced labour, particularly in its seafood industry.

 

The workers' demands to Unicord - a subsidiary of the Sea Value Group - include increased bonuses and benefits, such as benefits for workers with no absences over a two-week stretch.

 

Their demands aim to match the benefits provided to workers by other major seafood processors in Thailand, MWRN said.

Officials from Unicord could not immediately be reached by telephone for comment.

 

A 2015 report by a Finnish advocacy organisation found that Unicord had improved working conditions since the group began monitoring the company in 2012, but said its workers paid high recruitment fees.

 

Unicord reduced the recruitment fees last year after 200 workers protested outside the factory, Hall said, adding that their success emboldened them to submit the current demands.

 

Chanintr Chalisarapong, president of the Thai Tuna Industry Association and senior vice president of Sea Value, declined to comment on the negotiation.

 

"They just submitted it. It takes time to do this. They called for a lot of things. We can't comment right now. They (the company) are doing everything according to law now," Chanintr said by telephone.

 

Jason Judd, the International Labour Organization's programme manager focused on work conditions in the Thai seafood industry, said unions and civil society have repeatedly raised the issue of full organising and bargaining rights for workers in Thailand - regardless of their country of origin.

 

"Demands to improve wage protection, working conditions and working time by migrant workers are not uncommon, but we are hopeful that this new effort is one of several to advance dialogue between firms and workers in Thailand's large food and agriculture industry," Judd said by email.

 

(Reporting by Alisa Tang @alisatang, editing by Ros Russell. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-01-31

 

Good luck.!

Good on 'em and good luck. 

Ah, that fishy smell, yet again.

 

Seems, not only do Thais exploit foreigners through dual pricing, but it looks like they also exploit them with dual workers rights as well !!!

 

"...They will realise the power they have as employees. Workers are powerful human beings..." !!!

 

Could Andy be facing yet another suspended sentence for speaking out against Thai "employers" of migrant workers ???

Maybe they will be deported,how dare they,off you go

bring in more that will not cause any problems.

regards Worgeordie

Fight the power!

3 hours ago, waldroj said:

Ah, that fishy smell, yet again.

 

Seems, not only do Thais exploit foreigners through dual pricing, but it looks like they also exploit them with dual workers rights as well !!!

 

"...They will realise the power they have as employees. Workers are powerful human beings..." !!!

 

Could Andy be facing yet another suspended sentence for speaking out against Thai "employers" of migrant workers ???

It  would  do  many well to  see  what  multinationals  are  actually the  majority  shareholders  of  the  Thai  fishing  industry! That  may  reveal  some insight into the   whole  gambit of issues  in this  industry. 

8 hours ago, Dumbastheycome said:

It  would  do  many well to  see  what  multinationals  are  actually the  majority  shareholders  of  the  Thai  fishing  industry! That  may  reveal  some insight into the   whole  gambit of issues  in this  industry. 

 

Fair comment. 

 

But, in this instance it would also be appropriate to see whether the particular company (and its Thai directors) can be shown to say one thing and do another. 

 

See: 

• http://www.seavaluegroup.com/The_Ethical_trading_and_social_policy.html
• http://www.seavaluegroup.com/seavaluegroup_news.html