Southern Thailand
U.S. Pushes Thailand to Clean Up Tuna Industries Labour Practices
Workers process skipjack tuna at a Thai Union Frozen Products packaging plant in Samut Sakhon, Thailand
SAMUT SAKHON – Pressure from the United States is building on the Tuna industry in Thailand to clean up questionable labor practices. Four out of five workers in the canneries are foreign, part of an economic web of some 4 million migrants employed in Thailand’s factories, fishing fleets, and brothels.
Thailand is the world’s top exporter of canned tuna, with sales abroad of $2.3 billion and a 20 percent market share. The biggest cannery, Thai Union Frozen Products, owns Chicken of the Sea; it’s been waiting since December for approval from U.S. antitrust regulators to buy Bumble Bee for $1.5 billion.
Worker process skipjack tuna at a Thai Union Frozen Products
Last June, just after the coup, the annual U.S. report on human trafficking downgraded Thailand to Tier 3, the worst level, for nations that don’t meet the minimum standards to protect workers as laid out in the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. Tier 1 nations are the best, while Tier 2 countries either are making progress but have a way to go or are being watched for signs of backsliding.
Thailand joined Iran, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, among others, in Tier 3. Many migrants in Thailand are undocumented. The U.S. Department of State said in its report that they are often “forced, coerced, or defrauded into labor or exploited in the sex trade.” Chotiwat and Thai Union say they adhere to strict labor codes.
The downgrade has damaged Thailand’s reputation, increasing pressure from retailers such as Carrefour, Target, and Tesco—all wholesale buyers of Thai canned tuna—to improve worker protections, says Max Tunon, senior program officer in Bangkok with the International Labour Organization, which monitors worker conditions worldwide. “There’s concern,” he says, that “buyers might be looking elsewhere.”
General Prayuth Chan-Ocha, the prime minister, said the government places “great importance” on fighting trafficking. His regime has set up centers where migrant workers can receive legal working papers. The government has extended until June a deadline for neighboring countries to verify the nationalities of undocumented workers. Canners now limit overtime to two hours a day, down from as many as five. Companies are making it easier for workers to send money home, says Thai Tuna Industry Association President Chanintr Chalisarapong. Tier 3 status prompted “us to improve our working conditions,” he says.
Providing papers to workers is “a huge deal,” says Jeffrey Labovitz, the head of the Thailand office of the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration. Papers make arbitrary detention more difficult while also helping foreigners gain access to public health care. The canneries have also cut down on child labor, says Andy Hall, international affairs adviser for the Migrant Worker Rights Network. “There’s an awareness they need to engage,” he says.
Critics in the U.S. are less impressed. There’s been some progress in registering migrant workers, says Abby McGill, campaigns director for the International Labor Rights Forum, a Washington-based nonprofit. But the Thais haven’t addressed the crushing debt loads that workers take on to pay the agents who land them jobs. Until these practices change, she says, “Thailand should remain on Tier 3.”
On March 16 the U.S. chargé d’affaires in Bangkok met with the Thai labor minister to discuss the Tier 3 designation. The dialogue “is a good sign for Thailand” in its drive to get off the blacklist, the Ministry of Labor said in a statement. Thailand, says U.S. State Department spokesperson Pooja Jhunjhunwala, still needs “significantly greater steps to protect the rights of migrant workers.”
Two tourists and a Thai longboat operator were safely rescued after their boat capsized in stormy seas in the Phi Phi islands off Krabi province on late Sunday. The incident happened in Ao Nang bay at about 11am.
A speedboat owned by Narayana Marine spotted the capsized longboat and was able to provided assistance. Two Chinese tourists, one a young girl, a Thai tourist and the longboat operator were rescued.
A rescuer from the speedboat jumped into the rough seas and swam to the tourist clinging to the capsized longboat and gave them life vests. They were then hauled by rope to the safety of speedboat. The rescuers said the young Chinese girl was severely traumatized.
The tourists were taken to Phuket where they received medical treatment and then released. The Thai longboat operator is facing charges for unsafe operation of a boat and for not having the required life safety equipment.
According to the Thai-Chinese Tourism Alliance Association, safety briefings should be given to tourists before they depart on tours, and that visitors follow their own common sense, avoiding boats that are overcrowded and badly maintained.
On average, 20 people die in boat accidents each year, many of them due to badly maintained speedboats that shuttle tourists between the islands along the coast. They are frequently overcrowded and staffed poorly trained operators and crew.
The agencies in charge of regulating safety and licensing tourist boats, such as the Maritime Police, are frequently understaffed, with inadequate resources.
Tourists Being Rescued in the Phi Phi Islands
Many Tourists Choosing to Explore Thailand with a Campervan
Authorities on Thailand’s resort island of Phuket report an American man and a Thai woman were found dead on Mai Khao beach on Monday, and a Russian man drowned off Phuket’s Surin beach on Sunday.
According to Police, local villagers alerted authorities that two bodies had washed ashore on a beach in Thalang district.
Phuket police identified the deceased American man as Mr. James Newman, 45, the Thai woman as identified as Ms. Waranya, 49, a nurse from Surin. The police officer also did not reveal the relationship between the two.
Investigators discovered no evidence of violence against them, he added. According to preliminary findings, they booked into a hotel in Mai Khao on Sunday.
Phuket police believe the two were swimming when one was washed away from the beach by the strong tide while the other attempted to help but was unsuccessful. The victims bodies were taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital for autopsies.
Mr. Newman became the second American to drown is Phuket in less than two weeks. Last Tuesday, Mr. James Du Bois was discovered washed ashore at Nai Harn Beach in Muang District (main city) of Phuket.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Russian Mr.Apostolov Aleksei, 64, drowned near Surin Beach in Thalang. Police stated that there were no traces of violence on Aleksei’s body. The Russian man had stayed in a condominium in Tha Lang. His body was also taken to the Vachira Phuket Hospital.
Tourists Drowning in Phuket
Lifeguards in Phuket have cautioned beach goers to be extremely wary of rough seas and posted red flags on sites deemed hazardous for swimmers. Phuket, a renowned tourist destination in Thailand, has had a disturbing number of drowning deaths. This tropical paradise, famous for its beautiful beaches, draws millions of visitors each year.
But the attraction of its clear waters conceals major perils. Many vacationers overlook the power of rip tides and the unpredictable weather patterns. Lifeguards do their best, but they are frequently understaffed. Warning signs and flags are often ignored or misunderstood, resulting in tragic incidents. The lack of awareness and respect for the ocean’s power is a major contributing element.
Poor swimming ability and alcohol consumption can add to the problem. Local governments have worked to improve safety measures, but the answer lies in better education and tougher enforcement.
Tourists must accept personal responsibility for their safety and obey all cautions. Every drowning death in Phuket serves as a sharp warning that nature’s beauty may suddenly become lethal if not treated with caution and respect.
The Central Investigation Bureau police detained over 90 Russians in Phuket, Thailand during a crackdown on nominee companies, with assets valued at more than 1.5 billion baht taken.
Part of the operation, Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) commissioner Pol Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej said on Friday, police from the Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECSD) searched accounting and real estate companies in the island province.
There are currently charges pending against 135 people and 96 juristic people.
Pol Gen Jirabhop stated of the people, 37 Thais served as nominees for foreign firms and 98 foreign nationals, the majority of them being Russians. The people were subsequently released on bond.
The foreign suspects were accused of operating companies by eschewing or breaking the law, and of having Thais or other non-foreign nationals assist or co-run companies that foreigners were not authorized to operate.
Pol Gen Jirabhop charged the Thai suspects with providing assistance or support to foreign nationals operating enterprises without the necessary legal authorization.
Land and Assets in Phuket
Along with 196 passports, 108 work permits, documents pertaining to the formation of 800 companies, 1,601 company stamps, four electronic devices, and other items, seized during the crackdown were 225 bank accounts with 319 million baht in circulation, 245 land documents.
Including those for 96 condominium units worth about 1 billion baht and 43 title deeds covering 24 rai of land worth about 200 million baht. Police estimated the assets taken were worth more than 1.5 billion baht.
When locals protested to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin that foreign nationals—mostly Russians—had been operating enterprises and purchasing a lot of residential properties and land plots at astronomically high rates, the police operation was started.
According to Pol Gen Jirabhop, one of the activities that cost Thais jobs and harmed the economy was the operation of tour-related companies owned by foreign nationals.
The prime minister next gave acting national police commander Kitrat Panphet instructions to designate the appropriate agencies to look into the matter.
An inquiry by the CIB’s ECSD later revealed that, since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in early 2022, 59,717 Russian nationals had entered Phuket. They reported an incredibly high 1,603 new company registrations in the province.
ECSD commander Pol Maj Gen Phutthidet Boonkraphue cited instances of companies involving a single foreign woman, solely named Iana, 45.
She was discovered to be an executive and shareholder in nine companies, with a 38 million baht total registered capital: seven real estate companies, one service company, and one tour company.
Fake Company Nominees
The chief of ECSD said that the firms were occupying three opulent apartment and condominium developments valued at more than 900 million baht.
The detectives discovered that Ms. Iana was nominated by a Thai woman going by the name Trithip. Additionally discovered to be nominees for 272 companies were Ms. Trithip and other Thai citizens. There were Thai shareholders solely in 142, and both Thai and international shareholders were present in the others.
Later, Pol Maj Gen Phutthidet stated, the detectives collected evidence to ask the court for permission to arrest people engaged in nominee businesses.
Ms. Trithip acknowledged under inquiry that she was employed to act as a nominee for 30,000 to 50,000 baht each company.
Pol Maj Gen Phutthidet reported that 85 foreign nationals had already received summonses from the investigators to answer allegations of exploiting Thai nominees. He said that the probe is being continued.
Russians looking for sun and water have come to love Phuket. The island’s mild weather and laid-back way of life appeal to many. Russian visitors and residents can be seen frequently taking advantage of the lively nightlife and stunning beaches.
Some of them have even launched their own companies, which boosts the local economy. Growing Russian population in Phuket is fostering a little but active cross-cultural interaction. Even though Phuket is far from home, its kind people and wide range of activities provide them comfort.
Source: Bangkok Post
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