Activists slam inmate fishing plan

Activists slam inmate fishing plan

Thailand’s plan to use prison labour on fishing boats has drawn international condemnation because it does not solve the real cause of human trafficking, which the government says it is trying to address.

Using prisoners as boat crew could fuel the suspicions buyers of Thai products already harbour about labour rights violations on Thai fishing vessels, according to a letter signed by dozens of labour and human rights organisations in a letter submitted yesterday to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

The 45 signatories comprise non-governmental organisations and trade union bodies, including the national labour federations of the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.

They requested that Gen Prayut call off a pilot project to recruit prisoners from correctional facilities to fill a labour shortage in the fishing industry.

Multiple reports have documented gross labour violations on Thai fishing boats, including forced labour, physical violence, illegally low wages and human trafficking, they said.

“Thailand cannot run from the trafficking problem in its fishing fleet,” said Judy Gearhart, executive director of the International Labour Rights Forum. “And sending prisoners to sea will not address the systematic, pervasive labour problems in Thailand’s fishing industry. It is time for the Thai government to recognise that its treatment of migrant workers lies at the heart of the problem."

The groups said the labour shortage is caused, in large part, by the rights abuses, and the prison programme would do nothing to stem the problem. And it would most likely bring further hardship to the industry's profits.

“The retailers we have worked with in Australia are very responsive to the threat of forced labour in their supply chains,” said Mark Zirnsak, director of the Justice and International Mission at the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of Victoria and Tasmania.

The US State Department is closely watching Thailand's efforts to combat human trafficking. The prison plan could send signals the country is unable or unwilling to address the problem, the letter said.

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