You are: Producer

Status: Taking your HRDD to the next level

Because you are at the foundation of the seafood supply chain, the good practices you implement play a fundamental role in improving working conditions and upholding a socially responsible seafood industry. Due to the often physically challenging nature of the work, some of the most challenging human rights issues and risks are present at your level of the supply chain and require dedicated attention to overcome. 

As you develop your human rights due diligence (HRDD) program to improve working conditions and meet the expectations of consumers, the Take Action and Iterate steps of the Roadmap can offer information on how to prevent and remedy human rights issues in your supply chain and how to effectively review and update your program in the future. These steps include direct advice and guidance to enhance your program:

• Commit to repatriating migrant workers so at the end of their tenure with the company, facility, farm, or vessel, they do not face the risk of being stranded. 
• Include a time-bound process that provides credible remedy that is followed by verification in your grievance mechanisms to assure workers that remediation has occurred. Institute a case management system for workers who raise issues in order to ensure follow-up and communication and safeguard them from threats or retribution. 
• Make sure that seafood workers on vessels have Wi-Fi access, with an access agreement that includes terms, hours of use, and privacy stipulations in order to ensure freedom of communication and the ability to access grievance mechanisms. Workers should have the same level of access to Wi-Fi as the captain.
• Create and implement a process to routinely assess your company’s due diligence. Reference internal KPIs, time-bound goals, and timelines to evaluate your successes and shortcomings. Share HRDD progress to demonstrate improvement and build trust.

The Tips and Examples sections of the Roadmap provide examples and case studies that show how these steps can be implemented.

Thai Union has reportedly developed several grievance channels, including a human resources clinic, a phone line that allows workers to text or speak with HR directly, elected worker welfare committees that hold meetings to discuss worker welfare issues, suggestion boxes, and a hotline. Each Thai Union facility tends to have at least two of these grievance channels available to workers. Thai Union cited proactive channels of communication (such as the ability of HR representatives to speak with workers on the factory floor) as one of the more effective ways for capturing grievances, as issues can be caught before they escalate. Thai Union directs its grievance channels internally to human resources, to increase employer-employee dialogue and trust. 
Thai Union reports engaging with the Migrant Worker Rights Network to protect the rights of migrant workers, since they are the most vulnerable to modern slavery in the fishing industry. This collaboration has included promoting and supporting the election of migrant workers to worker committees to ensure that their voices are represented and interviewing workers to investigate issues such as the payment of recruitment fees. Thai Union also stated that it engages with the International Transport Workers Federation and Labour Promotion Network to support the protection of worker rights.