August 26, 2020 — Thai Union is looking at refinancing Red Lobster’s loans, reduced rent from landlords, and potentially closing some locations after the restaurant chain posted a USD 18.4 million (THB 579 million, EUR 15.6 million) loss in the fourth quarter.
The record losses were caused by having to close down all 600 dining rooms for a period of time, Thai Union Chief Financial Officer Joerg Ayrle said on an investor conference call.
July 31, 2020 — A rights group is suggesting the U.S. should downgrade Thailand in its human trafficking ranking, as the latter has not done enough to improve the situation.
In its Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2020 released in June, the U.S. State Department has kept Thailand’s ranking unchanged at Tier 2.
April 21, 2020 — Despite legal and corporate barriers, trade unions are starting to give migrant seafood workers a greater voice in Thailand and across Southeast Asia – enabling them to combat the subpar working conditions that persist on fishing vessels and in seafood processing facilities.
Organizing hasn’t been easy, according to a new report published by the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), an advocacy organization. The migrant workers that fill most of the low-wage, low-skill jobs in the Thai seafood industry are legally barred from forming labor unions in Thailand.
April 16, 2020 — Just one kilogram of freshly caught squid a day was almost enough to live on for Thai fishermen like Wisut Boonnak. Now the catch has halved in price and he’s spending more time on village duties.
“It’s the biggest price drop that I can remember,” said Wisut, who’s been fishing for the past 40 years off the southern Thai coast. “There are fewer buyers around now because exports are lower.” Wisut used to go to sea daily to catch squid and mackerel. These days he’s out just once or twice a week.
The global seafood industry, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, is seeing demand crater. From lobster fishermen in North America to salmon farmers in Norway and shrimp producers in Vietnam, people are hurting as the coronavirus shuts cafes and restaurants and wreaks havoc with supply chains. Whether farmed or wild, fresh or processed, few areas have escaped the impact.
March 24, 2020 — Helping the canned tuna industry cope with climate change tops an already lengthy to-do list for Darian McBain, chief sustainability officer at the Thailand company that owns the Chicken of the Sea and John West brands.
In a business long accused by activists of abusing workers and killing dolphins, McBain’s responsibilities at Thai Union Group Pcl typically focused on improving labor rights in the supply chain and reducing the abandoned fishing gear on the high seas.
“Climate change hasn’t been the No. 1 topic,” she said. “Now, the climate emergency has to be a lot stronger part of the dialogue.”
The industry hasn’t yet confronted the magnitude of the problem, McBain said.
March 13, 2020 — A new report released in March by the United Nations’ International Labor Organization (ILO) has found improvements in working conditions in Thailand’s fishing and seafood processing sectors. However, there remain problems with forced labor in the industry, the organization noted.
Despite the finding, a group of human rights-focused NGOs are calling on the U.S. government to downgrade Thailand in its annual report on human trafficking, according to Reuters.
March 10, 2020 — A report issued Tuesday by the U.N.’s International Labor Organization credits Thailand with improving working conditions in the fishing and seafood processing industry, but says that serious abuses including forced labor remain.
The report is a follow-up to one published in 2018, and compares the workers situations from earlier surveys to one conducted last year.
Thailand’s seafood sector accounts for billions of dollars in export earnings annually and employ more than 350,000 workers.
However, the industry began facing the threat of trade sanctions from Western nations after media exposure in 2014 of poor working conditions and especially the exploitation of ‘fishing slaves’ — forced labor.
In response, Thailand’s government began instituting reform measures, most effectively by strengthening its legal, policy and regulatory framework, the report says.
But the measures have failed to substantially cut the use of forced labor, it says. Extrapolating from the 2019 survey of workers, it estimates that 14% of those engaged in fishing and 7% of those in seafood processing were subject to some form of forced labor.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New York Times
March 5, 2020 — Infofish has decided to postpone TUNA 2020, its tuna conference in Bangkok, Thailand, due to concern about the outbreak of COVID-19.
The 16th edition of the World Tuna Trade Conference & Exhibition, which was scheduled to take place from 27 to 29 May this year, will be rescheduled to ensure the health of attendees, the organizer said in a statement.
February 11, 2020 — Several retailers and buyers sourcing seafood from Thailand have called on the Southeast Asian nation to preserve major regulations in the fisheries sector amidst fears that recently-made reforms may be rolled back.
In an open letter posted on the website of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) last week, the buyers said they “urge the Royal Thai government to continue the path of reform and work constructively with national actors to achieve a transition towards a legal, ethical and sustainable fishing sector.”
January 21, 2020 — Back in 2015, Thai Union had run into choppy waters. The multi-billion dollar seafood giant behind global tinned fish brands John West in the United Kingdom, Chicken of the Sea in the United States and King Oscar in Norway, among many others, had a PR shipwreck in its sights, and needed to shift coordinates swiftly.
Exposés in the New York Times, Associated Press and The Guardian had laid bare human rights abuses, forced labor and environmentally destructive fishing methods in Asian supply chains for canned seafood and prawns that ended up in U.K. supermarkets, placing Thai Union — one of the biggest producers in the world — firmly in the media and campaigner firing line.
Greenpeace didn’t mince its words, calling on consumers and investors to boycott the company, accusing it of “sacrificing the world’s oceans” and “destructive, wasteful fishing practices from its supply chains.”
“For far too long Thai Union Group has passed the blame onto others and hidden behind ineffective policies,” Greenpeace campaigner Graham Forbes said at the time. “Until this industry giant takes responsibility and demonstrates real leadership, we will work to ensure that every single customer knows it’s not just tuna that comes with buying one of its tainted brands.”