Researchers allege abuse at Thai factories

Poultry exported to Europe from factories in Thailand is sometimes prepared in conditions that violate labour rights, two Scandinavian groups promoting corporate responsibility charged Thursday. The claim comes as Thailand’s seafood industry is reeling from allegations that its products are tainted by major labour abuses, including slavery on fishing boats.

The groups Finnwatch and Swedwatch said in a report released in Thailand that they found abuses at six factories that process broiler meat, including exorbitant recruitment fees, illegal confiscation of personal documentation and forced labour.

Earlier this week, the food conglomerate Nestle SA announced it has found that impoverished migrant workers in Thailand are sold or lured by false promises and forced to catch and process fish that ends up in its supply chain. Most migrant workers are from Myanmar and Cambodia.