22 Feb Organizations urge U.S. to block imports of fishing nets from Thai companies over evidence of forced prison labor
February 22, 2022
Organizations urge U.S. to block imports of fishing nets from Thai companies over evidence of forced prison labor
WASHINGTON – Global Labor Justice – International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF) and partner organizations in the Seafood Working Group (SWG) are calling on the Biden Administration to ensure U.S. companies do not import fishing nets made by Thai companies that use forced prison labor.
In a petition submitted to the U.S. government, the organizations say that two Thai companies – Khon Kaen Fishing Net Factory Co., Ltd. (KKF) and Dechapanich Fishing Net Factory Ltd. (Dechapanich) – have made fishing nets under exploitative conditions in Thai prisons. They are calling on the U.S. to investigate and block these companies from selling nets to U.S. corporations.
The groups submitted the petition following an expose by Thai journalist Nanchanok Wongsamuth on the working conditions in Thai prisons, which use inmates to fulfill high-value contracts with Thai companies. Prisoners said that they and hundreds of other inmates were forced to make nets for less than Thai minimum wage if they were paid at all. Prisoners also said they had no protective gear, sustained painful blisters and cuts as they were pushed to meet quotas and were beaten or tortured if they refused to work.
Seafood giant Trident Seafoods, as well as Calusa Trading Co., H. Christiansen Co. (Duluth Nets), and Gramter International USA have purchased fishing nets from KKF, and Fitech International Inc. has bought Dechapanich fishing nets, according to records in an international trade database.
The SWG is calling on Thai and U.S. seafood companies to commit to responsible sourcing and transparency in their supply chains. The global fishing industry is rife with abuse and Thai and international labor rights groups will continue to use all means at their disposal to end forced labor and raise standards for all workers in the industry.
“This is just one of many examples of how multinational corporations scour the globe to source the lowest-priced products, but absolve themselves of responsibility for the human rights abuses their race to the bottom engenders. We’re calling on U.S. companies to ensure that their suppliers respect workers’ rights and for the U.S. government to ban the import of these nets and all products found to be made with forced prison labor or forced labor of any kind. No worker – including prisoners – should be subjected to forced labor,” said Jennifer (JJ) Rosenbaum, Executive Director of GLJ-ILRF.
Thai and international civil society organizations have put together recommendations to the Government of Thailand, the Thai fishing net companies, and U.S. buyers to address abusive working conditions in prisons and to end forced labor in global supply chains.
Background on Thai fishing net production:
According to interviews with several former prisoners who made fishing nets for KKF, Dechapanich, and other companies, and who witnessed hundreds of other prisoners make nets inside the prison and at company factories, prisoners were required to undertake the work without choice. They were paid a fraction of the minimum wage or nothing at all, performed the work in overcrowded facilities, and sustained painful blisters and cuts from the sharp fibers due to lack of protective gear and being pushed to fill unreasonable quotas.
Those who were unable to meet high production quotas or refused to undertake work faced various forms of physical punishment and torture. One former prisoner explained, “For some prisoners who were more stubborn about doing the work, they were forced to lie down on the hot concrete road, in the sun, without a shirt and had to roll back and forth. Some were also beaten by batons. They had either refused to work at all or couldn’t meet the quota [for fishing nets].” Some prisoners had to go to the hospital outside of the prison because they suffered serious injuries, such as a broken arm or leg.
Prison officials also used the threat of delayed release to compel prisoners to work and repeatedly informed prisoners that they have no rights and that there is no use in filing a complaint. A different former prisoner said, “There was no agreement or contract about wages between the prisoners and the prison. They didn’t explain anything. We had to learn from fellow prisoners. You have to understand this was a ‘twilight land’. They did not look at you as a human being.” The testimonies provide strong evidence of forced labor per U.S. law and the International Labor Organization (ILO)’s indicators of forced labor.
Thailand has a long history of labor exploitation in its prison system, which human rights organizations and the media have reported on in recent years, including the prevalence of punishment and disciplinary measures used against prisoners that could amount to torture. The Thai government has continued to try to hire prisoners in order to fill labor shortages in recent years. This has included a failed policy proposal by the Ministry of Labor in 2015 to recruit prisoners to work on Thai fishing vessels, which are widely known for their rampant human rights abuses. More recently, in 2021, Thailand’s Minister of Justice proposed building industrial estates where companies can hire prisoners to work in seafood processing factories to fill labor shortages arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and to facilitate prison decongestion.
Thailand has struggled to eradicate forced labor from its highly profitable commercial seafood industry. In 2021, Thailand was downgraded to ‘Tier 2 Watch List’ in the U.S. State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report for ongoing forced labor of migrant workers particularly in the fishing sector. Thai seafood companies and U.S. buyers, too, have developed numerous initiatives to end forced labor in the Thai seafood industry, yet abuses are reportedly ongoing.
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GLJ–ILRF is a newly merged organization that brings strategic capacity to cross-sectoral work on global value chains and labor migration corridors.
The Seafood Working Group (SWG) is a global coalition of human rights, labor and environmental organizations that work together to develop and advocate for effective government policies and industry actions to end the related problems of labor exploitation, illegal fishing and overfishing in the international seafood trade.
Recommendations
The following recommendations to the Government of Thailand, the Thai fishing net companies, and U.S. buyers have been developed by Thai and international civil society organizations with extensive expertise working to address forced labor in global supply chains.
To the Government of Thailand:
- Ensure working conditions in all prisons are consistent with the U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) and the U.N. Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules). In particular, the Nelson Mandela Rules state “there shall be a system of equitable remuneration of the work of prisoners,” and “prison labor must not be of an afflictive nature.”
- Comply with the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, particularly with regard to the state duty to protect human rights and ensure access to remedy through judicial, administrative, and legislative means.
- Enforce the “Ministerial Regulation Calculation of monetary income and the payment of reward for inmates where work carried out generates income that can be translated to monetary value B.E. 2563 (2020),” which prescribes for prisoners to receive 70% of the profits from the work they are assigned.
- Halt all plans to use prisoners in industrial zones and similar plans to use prisoners to fill labor shortages.
- Provide instruction and training to prison officials to end the use of physical violence to force prisoners to work or to meet unreasonable production quotas. As per the Nelson Mandela Rules, “in no circumstances may restrictions or disciplinary sanctions amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The following practices, in particular, shall be prohibited: (a) Indefinite solitary confinement; (b) Prolonged solitary confinement; (c) Placement of a prisoner in a dark or constantly lit cell; (d) Corporal punishment or the reduction of a prisoner’s diet or drinking water; (e) Collective punishment.”
- Conduct regular inspections of prisons and investigate all allegations of human rights violations related to prison labor, then publicly report on the findings and adequately compensate victims of abuses.
- Allow independent inspection bodies, including the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT) and the Ombudsman, unfettered access to all prisons, in line with commitments made by Thailand during its second Universal Periodic Review.
- Allow non-governmental organizations with a relevant mandate to conduct visits to places of detention, interview inmates, and assess conditions without undue hindrance.
To the Thai fishing nets companies – KKF and Dechapanich:
- Ensure that working conditions in your company’s operations and in your supply chains and business relationships are in accordance with Thai law, international human rights law, and international labor standards.
- Comply with the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by undertaking human rights due diligence in all workplaces still under contract with your company or future contracts that are being negotiated. This includes assessing actual or potential abuses, ceasing activities that contribute to abuses, publicizing due diligence policies and activities, and providing effective remedy for any labor violations found.
- Cooperate with U.S. buyers to provide remedy for former prisoners who produced fishing nets under exploitative conditions while under contract with your company. In particular, provide compensation for unpaid wages.
- Commit to public disclosure of supply chain information in order to ensure greater transparency in supply chains and support frontline organizations in identifying and reporting labor exploitation earlier on.
To the U.S. buyers – Calusa Trading Co., Gramter International, Trident Seafoods, H. Christiansen Co., and Fitec International U.S.:
- Comply with the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by undertaking human rights due diligence throughout entire supply chains and in all workplaces still under contract with your company or future contracts that are being negotiated. This includes assessing actual or potential abuses, ceasing activities that contribute to abuses, publicizing due diligence policies and activities, and providing effective remedy for any labor violations found.
- Cooperate with KKF and Dechapanich to provide remedy to former prisoners who produced fishing nets under exploitative conditions while under contract with your company. In particular, provide compensation for unpaid wages.
- Commit to public disclosure of supply chain information in order to ensure greater transparency in supply chains and support frontline organizations in identifying and reporting labor exploitation earlier on.
- Proactively support implementation of the U.S. Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) to ensure greater transparency in global supply chains and to prevent forced labor-sourced goods from entering the U.S. market.
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