The government is expediting efforts to combat slave labour in the seafood industry after the issue was exposed by an Associated Press report on forced labour in the shrimp industry in the port province of Samut Sakhon.
Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said Thursday he has been assigned by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to oversee operations to clamp down on slave labour in the fishing industry.
The Royal Thai Police have been instructed to deal with the issue, according to Pol Gen Srivara.
Authorities are stepping up efforts to take legal action against those involved in forced labour and human trafficking to restore confidence in the country, said Pol Gen Srivara, speaking after a discussion with officials in Samut Sakhon, where forced labour was reported as rife in shrimp-peeling sheds.
Police inspected a shrimp-peeling shed at Samut Sakhon Thursday in a crackdown spurred by Monday's news report of forced labour, slave-like conditions and human trafficking in the seafood industry. Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Srivara Ransibrahmanakul led the raid and "discussed solutions" during his visit to the province. (Photos by Chanat Katanyu)
Pol Gen Srivara said he has also asked the provincial industrial office to be more stringent in issuing factory licences and enforcing standards for factory working conditions.
The Employment Department and the Labour Protection and Welfare Department have been requested to ensure the well-being and welfare of workers, he said.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha previously vowed to punish officers who fail to tackle forced labour in seafood processing facilities.
The prime minister insisted all offenders will be arrested and officers who fail to do their jobs will be dealt with accordingly.
The report by AP, published on Monday, exposed the slave-like working conditions of Myanmar workers at a medium-sized 80-person shrimp peeling mill in Samut Sakhon, named the Gig Peeling Factory.
One worker, Tin Nyo Win, 22, had worked at the factory for five months -- starting in July this year -- alongside his pregnant wife, Mi San. According to the report, the couple were lured from their home in Myanmar to work at the Gig shed without visas or work permits, and forced to peel nearly 80kg of shrimp for just 144 baht per day.
Workers, including children, were assaulted, cursed at and forced to work even when they were ill. The couple eventually attempted to escape. Tin Nyo Win succeeded but his wife was caught.
On Nov 9, Tin Nyo Win returned to the Gig with law enforcement officers to find his wife. She was located at another seafood factory nearby.
The shrimp peeled by the forced labourers in the factory enters the supply chains of major seafood exporters, and reaches US, European and Asian markets.
A team of police inspected the Gig Peeling factory on Thursday, only to find it had already been closed.
The police raids turned up Krisana Sonthes, 35, who was arrested on an outstanding warrant on charges of trafficking Thai and migrant workers lured to work on Thai-registered fishing boats operating near Benjina island in Indonesia.
The team also visited another shrimp peeling factory called Aor-Aroonchoke, which has about 30 workers, in Muang district. Pol Gen Srivara said authorities wanted to promote understanding with the factory owners and the workers about employment and working conditions.
Also Thursday, Pol Gen Srivara announced the arrest of a suspected human trafficker. Krisana Sonthes, 35, was detained under an arrest warrant issued by the Samut Sakhon court on Wednesday.
He was wanted in connection with the trafficking of Thai and migrant workers brought to work on Thai-registered fishing boats operating near Benjina island in Indonesia, Pol Gen Srivara said. The alleged offences were committed between August in 2013 and April this year.
The arrest was made after a rescued victim of trafficking filed a police complaint against him. The victim's identity has been kept confidential under the anti-human trafficking law.
On June 30, another major suspected human trafficker, Chayutpong Charoenporn, 50, was also arrested in Chon Buri after nearly one year on the run.
According to police, Mr Chayutpong, a well-known figure in Samut Sakhon, fled in August last year after the government launched its crackdown on forced labour and human trafficking. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
The suspect allegedly instructed his men to recruit jobless people at various locations in Bangkok, especially at bus terminals or public parks.
After the new recruits agreed, they would be taken to a night entertainment venue in Samut Sakhon to "loosen up" and then to a shelter where they would wait for fake seaman's books, according to police.
Mr Chayutpong allegedly supplied Thai fishing trawlers with seven to eight workers per month, including the trawler operated by Mr Krisana.
Some Thai workers accused Mr Krisana of beating them and refusing to send them back to Thailand while they worked on his boat until they were rescued by government officials, police said.
Speaking at a Thursday seminar to mark International Migrants Day today, Adisorn Kerdmongkol, a migrant worker labour activist, said the government still has a bureaucratic, top-down approach to dealing with the migrant workers issue.
This method lacks participation from the rest of society, including academics and entrepreneurs, Mr Adisorn said, adding their input is necessary to help the government formulate more acceptable policies.
Mr Adisorn said the migrant labour situation in Thailand has not changed from the past. Although some migrant workers have registered, many remain undocumented.
But importing legal foreign labour under bilateral agreements with neighbouring countries is a lengthy process with high costs, he said.
Even though the government has amended several laws in a bid to address the human trafficking issue, problems remain when it comes to enforcing the laws. The 2014 amended Labour Ministry regulation on the protection of labour in the fishing industry requires that an employment contract be made between employers and employees before workers go to sea. But in reality, few written contracts are ever made, Mr Adisorn said.
