The president of one of the world's biggest seafood exporters expressed frustration and promised change Wednesday after saying an Associated Press investigation that linked slave-peeled shrimp to his company should be a "wake-up call" to the industry.
Thiraphong Chansiri said Thai Union will spend millions of dollars to end reliance on poorly regulated contractors that have been responsible for much of the abuse.
He added that under the current system, it's almost impossible to ensure that supply chains are clean.
Like other exporters in Thailand, his company has for years relied heavily on poor migrants working in factories in the port town of Samut Sakhon to peel, gut and devein shrimp.
The AP report revealed Monday that many of these laborers are undocumented and can end up being tricked or sold into factories 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.
Thiraphong said despite great efforts, Thai Union has been unable to keep labor abuses out of its supply chains.
It has tried everything from spot checks by third-party auditors to regular meetings with external suppliers. But problems keep popping up.
"We realized that we could not ensure 100 percent," he said. "Even with the whole system that we established."
He said Thai Union will exclusively use in-house labor for shrimp processing starting Jan. 1, a change he said would cost the company about $5 million.
"This move will provide us with full oversight of all processing stages and will ensure that all workers, whether migrant or Thai, are in safe, legal employment and are treated fairly and with dignity," Thiraphong said.
Here in the KC metro, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver wrote a letter to the Secretary of Labor and the acting FDA Commissioner of Food and Drugs.
The letter reads in part:
I am deeply concerned for the welfare of adult and children shrimp peelers in Thailand who are forced to work in one of the most abhorrent slavery schemes of the 21st century. Recent reports from the United Nations, the
European Union, the US State Department, and international labor organizations have all detailed the repugnant use of slave labor in the Thai shrimp processing industry. A detailed report released by the Associated Press just this month revealed particularly illustrative and gruesome testimony of former slave workers: human trafficking, forced labor, debt bondages, filthy sub-human working conditions, child endangerment, unlivable wages, and even death. The list of human rights violations is both extensive and foul.
Click here to read Cleaver's letter in full
Hy-Vee also provided a statement that reads:
"Hy-Vee has zero tolerance for labor abuses of any kind, in any country, yet we also recognize the inherent challenges of verifying that global supply chains are abuse-free. That's why we support solutions that will engage the seafood industry, government and civil society to address this complex, systemic problem. Through our Responsible Sourcing Commitment, we are improving our seafood supply chains by tracing products back to the source and making adjustments to improve labor practices. Hy-Vee is strengthening efforts to ensure human rights abuses do not take place within our supply chains and will continue to investigate best practices and tools for improvements.
For more information about our seafood practices, visit https://www.hy-vee.com/company/sustainability/responsible-choice-seafood.aspx."
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