Ship to Shore Rights Project

Combatting Unacceptable Forms of Work in the Thai Fishing and Seafood Industry

The project aims to prevent and reduce forced labour, child labour and other unacceptable forms of work, and progressively eliminate the exploitation of workers, particularly migrant workers, in the Thai fishing and seafood processing sectors.

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Project details

Duration

1 February 2016 - 31 July 2019

Development partner(s)

European Union

Reference

THA/15/03/EUR

Contact

ILO Country Office for Thailand, Cambodia and Lao People's Democratic Republic

Additional details

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In recent years, a number of graphic reports have triggered an increased awareness of the serious human and labour rights abuses committed in the Thai commercial fishing and seafood processing industries, particularly against migrant workers. The Thai Government, industry, workers’ organizations and civil society organizations have all stepped up efforts to respond to these abuses. This EU-funded ILO project works closely with these partners towards the prevention and reduction of unacceptable forms of work in the Thai fishing and seafood processing sectors.

Objectives

The four specific project objectives are:

Strengthen the legal, policy and regulatory framework in the fishing and seafood sectors by raising labour standards and facilitating more legal migration into the seafood and fishing sectors.
Enhance the capacity of Government officers, including the labour inspectorate, to more effectively identify and take action against human trafficking and other labour rights abuses in the fishing and seafood processing sectors.
Improve compliance with the fundamental principles and rights at work (core labour standards) in the seafood and fishing industries through the implementation of the Good Labour Practices (GLP), and help scale up an effective complaints mechanism with increased awareness and ownership across the supply chain.
Enhance access to support services to workers and victims of labour abuses, including children, through engagement and empowerment of civil society organizations and trade unions.

The issues of gender equality, good governance, private sector engagement and environment will cut across the four objectives of the project.

Implementation and cooperation

The project is implemented by the ILO Country Office for Thailand, Cambodia and Lao PDR with funding from the European Union (EU). Activities will be carried out in cooperation with a number of Royal Thai Government Units including the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare and the Department of Employment in the Ministry of Labour, the Department of Fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and the Command Centre to Combat Illegal Fishing (CCCIF); trade unions, workers associations and civil society organizations; employers’ organizations, industry associations and buyers and retailers groups.
Cooperation with a range of other actors and initiatives at the national, regional and global level will be leveraged to address unacceptable forms of work in the industry.