Reforms still rare in shrimp biz
Thai companies had vowed changes after censure over slavery
SAMUT SAKHON, Thailand — Facing international pressure over human trafficking in the seafood trade, Thailand promised almost a year ago to compensate victims of slavery and industry leaders vowed to bring all fish processing in-house.
That hasn’t always happened. Instead, some formerly enslaved shrimp peelers have been deported. Shrimp peeling sheds are being inspected and authorized to keep operating.
The Associated Press found that while some Thai firms that export shrimp to theU.S. have given formerly entrapped workers better jobs in-house others still use middlemen who employ laborers in remote, guardedwarehouses.
Shed owners frequently break environmental, labor or safety laws. Seventy-five percent of the 109 inspected so far this year were cited for violations, and 24 were ordered to close.
Human rights and media reports documenting abuse in Thailand’s $7 billion annual seafood export industry have brought international pressure. Last year, the AP reported on slavery inside the Gig Peeling shed outside Bangkok in Samut Sakhon, where more than 100 people were locked inside and forced towork 16 hours a day, ripping guts, heads and tails off shrimp that entered supply chains of most major U.S. supermarkets and companies including Red Lobster, Whole Foods and WalMart.
One of the workers, Tin NyoWin, ran away and told police, who raided the factory and rescued the other workers, including his wife. Some Thai seafood exporters have improved working conditions, like Thai Union, whose Samut Sakhon factory is shown. Tin NyoWin, a former worker at the Gig Peeling shed, ran away from the factory and told police of the slavery there.
This month, the couple were deported toMyanmar after being held almost a year in a Thai government shelter.
Thegovernment had said victims and witnesses of human trafficking could
stay and work in Thailand for up to one year while their cases were investigated. This year, the U.S. State Department commended Thailand for reformsandremovedit froma global human trafficking
blacklist.
Those Thai reforms— on paper — include paying whistleblowers like Win and providing victims compensation, education, employment and other assistance. But Win said he and his wife weren’t even given food sometimes.
“They don’t treat us like humans. They treat us like dogs,” Win said hours before Thai authorities took them away.
Authorities said that although the couple were victims of modern-day slavery they had illegally entered Thailand in the first place. Nattamon Punbhochar at the Thai Foreign Ministry said the couple never requested compensation andwere deported in accordance with a memorandum of understanding Thailand has withMyanmar.
Col. Prasert Siriphanapitat, Samut Sakhon deputy police commander, said five people, including a shed owner, have been charged inWin’s case. All are out on bail.
Last year, facing a boycott over abuses, major seafood groups and certifiers decided to protect workers by moving all labor in-house, banning outsourcing of shrimp pre-processing. Yet, dozens of pre-processing sheds continue to operate.
Some are large factories, others nothing more than large garages. Labor advocates say there’s little oversight to ensure abuses aren’t occurring.
The AP recently visited a handful of Samut Sakhon shrimp sheds buzzing with workers hand-peeling shrimp on residential streets or behindwalls.
“We’re following rules 100 percent,” said Boonchai Seafood Director Taweesak Suralertrungson.
Documents at Boonchai show it processes shrimp for May Ao Foods Co., one of Thailand’s leading exporters to theU.S.
Boonchai’s operations passed a government inspection. But the industry had vowed to eliminate middlemen. May Ao’s shrimp carries global industry certification that says “peeling and heading of shrimp must occur in facilities owned by and completely controlled by” the processing plants. MayAo is also a member of the Thai Frozen Foods Association, which promised “to eradicate third-party preprocessing.”
May Ao and TFFA officials initially said all shrimp peeling is in-house before conceding that it wasn’t. TFFA President Poj Aramwattananont said that MayAo’s factory is too small to handle all the labor and that there’s nothing illegal about pre-processing in independentwarehouses.
“We are not 100 percent clean. You will always find some problems, but those are rare,” he said.
Some Thai seafood exporters have improved working conditions. Thai Union opened a large, clean peeling warehouse where 1,200 workers get subsidized meals and opportunities for bonuses.
“I have more rights. I like it,” said Thet Paing Oo, 23, a migrant fromMyanmar.
He said he spent six years working 15-hour shifts at shrimp sheds without a day off. Now, his salary has increased, and he gets one day off aweek.
Yu Wa, 35, also from Myanmar, teared up at memories of her previous shed, where shewas locked inside and paid by the kilogram, not per day.
“I am treated well and the boss is good,” she said. “It’s much better.”