The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is an international federation of transport workers’ trade unions with more than 20,000,000 million members in all transport sectors, which among the others represents fishers working at sea and on land, as part of the supply chain. The ITF is campaigning to protect and secure decent human and labour rights of the fishers worldwide in the world‰Ûªs Fishing is the world‰Ûªs most dangerous industry, mixed up with human trafficking, piracy, child labour, modern slavery and even murder. Effective regulation is vital. The ITF works with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other relevant international organisation to address the plight of fishers on a global level. The ITF is actively involved in: – Promotion of ratification and implementation of the ILO Work in Fishing Convention No188,2007 which provide the minimum standards regarding employment of fishers: – Fighting to stop the abuse of fishers and fishworkers: – Combating social dumping: – Prevent and eliminate human trafficking in fishing: – Combating IUU fishing which is major threat to people and fisheries.
Type: Multi-stakeholder initiative
Organization of Associated Producers of Large Tuna Freezers (OPAGAC)
The Organization of Associated Producers of Large Tuna Freezers (OPAGAC ) is an association of Spanish tuna supplier companies involved in tuna fishing and processing. The association currently encompasses 47 tuna purse seiner vessels operating in the three major Oceans (Atlantic, India and Pacific). They are currently working with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on a Global Tuna fisheries improvement program (FIP ,) in the four tuna RFMOS (ICCAT IOTC, IATTC & WCPFC) for which they are currently seeking Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. OPAGAC also implemented a new UNE standard for responsible tuna fishers which includes social standards drawn from the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 188. These include provisions for guaranteeing minimum wage remuneration, resting hours, medical care, prevention of occupational hazards, and social security of the crews. The right to collective bargaining is also recognized. Vessels that meet these standards and get certified by AENOR against it, are considered as Responsible Fisheries Tuna (APR ). AENOR has also developed the Chain of Custody Regulation, by which, the canning factories that get their Chain of Custody certified, will be able to label their tuna cans with APR AENOR CONFORM logo, that requires that the tuna they label as APR comes from vessels APR certified and are developing a Comprehensive FIP recognized by www.fisheryprogress.org .
SGS
SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 97,000 employees, SGS operates a network of more than 2,600 offices and laboratories around the world. As the leader in providing specialized business solutions that improve safety, quality and sustainability, SGS helps customers navigate an increasingly regulated world. SGS’s independent services add significant value to our customers’ operations and ensure business productivity whilst managing risk. Specific to the field of social accountability, SGS helps customers implement a Code of Conduct, and develop supply chains characterized by transparency and a long-term, systematic approach. This approach includes risk assessments, ongoing compliance assessments, data management and training to ensure that your business partners abide by your company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility. Around the world, SGS is improving trust between seafood trading partners. Whether in multi-stakeholder initiatives, or for specific clients and governments, SGS uses the combined resources of its safety, quality and sustainability/responsible business professionals. SGS’s follow-up assignments help close out the violations, and often through training, provide stakeholders with the tools and understanding to meet global and local compliance expectations. Through its Transparency One solution, SGS is helping brands map supply chains, and provide supply chain transparency and traceability. Additional work flows may add blockchain technology to secure the data. In the coming year, we expect to add mobile technology platforms and IoT to deliver information more efficiently and effectively thereby reducing risk.
Plan International Thailand
Plan International Thailand has been working with communities, civil society and the government to advance children‰Ûªs rights and gender equality since 1981. Much of Thailand is well developed, however, there are a number of marginalized groups such as children of migrant workers and stateless people who our work is focused on. Our key areas of work include: ‰Û¢ Gender justice and women’s empowerment: Strengthening the participation and leadership capacity of girls and women so they can make informed decisions about their lives and reach their potential. ‰Û¢ Children on the move: Ensuring migrant children can exercise their rights to education, health care and protection. ‰Û¢ Legal status and citizenship: Helping stateless people, particularly girls, to exercise their rights and access services so they can achieve a better quality of life.
Seafish Industry Authority (Seafish)
The Sea Fish Industry Authority (Seafish) is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) set up to improve efficiency and raise standards across the UK seafood industry. Seafish is supporting the seafood industry to help eliminate unethical practices from UK seafood supply chains. This is all about harnessing the commitment of the seafood industry to respect human rights; about assessing and understanding modern slavery risks in the supply chain; acting to deal with identified risks; looking for remedies and solutions; monitoring progress and communicating best practice. Seafish has introduced a number of integrated work areas. These include:
– Establishing the Seafood Ethics Common Language Group (SECLG) to bring industry and other stakeholders together to collaboratively understand how ethical issues can be addressed across the supply chain.
– Producing 15 profiles identifying social risks in regions supplying the UK market. These profiles were aimed at informing purchasing decisions in seafood businesses.
– Raised industry awareness of ethical issues and supporting seafood businesses to comply with UK Modern Slavery legislation.
– Developed Tools for Ethical Seafood Sourcing (TESS) to signpost stakeholders to resources to help manage and reduce risks associated with labour issues and worker welfare in seafood supply chains.
– Developed and implemented the voluntary Seafish Responsible Fishing Scheme (RFS) certifying high standards of crew welfare and responsible catching practices on fishing vessels.
– Worked with the supply chain to develop the voluntary Responsible Fishing Ports Scheme which includes worker welfare.
– Produced and disseminated briefings to improve knowledge of the issues and inform key stakeholders about the latest initiative.
Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions
The Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions is a global community of stakeholders working together to improve the sustainability and responsibility of seafood supply chains for our ocean and the people who depend on it. The Alliance envisions a world with an abundance of seafood in an environment where workers, communities, and our ocean thrive. Its goal is that by 2030, at least 75% of global seafood production is environmentally sustainable or making verifiable improvement, and safeguards are in place to ensure social responsibility. The Alliance finds efficiencies in the sustainable seafood community and makes sure that diverse voices from across seafood supply chains are included, so that we can accelerate and increase our collective impact.
Tools for Ethical Seafood Sourcing (TESS)
Tools for Ethical Seafood Sourcing (TESS) is a web tool that points you to a whole host of useful (and free) resources which can help businesses address social responsibility challenges in their seafood supply chains. TESS launched in March 2017 as a one-stop-resource-shop. It starts with an overview of the social issues impacting on the seafood supply chain. Seafish recognised that with so many different sources of information available on ethical issues, which range from identifying issues through to international standards and ‰Û÷on the ground‰Ûª initiatives working on the issues, it can be challenging for seafood businesses to understand this complex landscape and then decide what they need to do to identify issues and make improvements. This is where TESS can help. TESS charts a straight-forward business improvement cycle. All the featured resources (presented as interactive records) are linked to one of six steps in this cycle which has been designed to help systematically tackle issues in seafood supply chains. All the information is publicly available on external websites, so you are taken to the source of the information. The benefit of TESS is that it brings all these resources together in one place. As well as following the six step approach there is a fully searchable database so that you can find all this information on initiatives, standards and organisations very simply.
STOP THE TRAFFIK Australia Coalition
Stop the Traffik Australia Coalition raises awareness of modern slavery, child labour, we work across companies, government, civil society to help create a shared responsibility
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is a business-focused NGO working to create information tools and methodology to allow companies to directly engage with seafood suppliers. SFP operates through two main principles: information and improvement. SFP has created a database called FishSource of fisheries and aquaculture areas which contains assessments of sustainability and improvement needs. SFP helps seafood companies engage with fisheries by creating FIPs and AIPs to work together with multi-stakeholder groups for the creation and implementation of improvement plans. SFP is also collaborating with Seafish and Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program to create a risk assessment tool for social responsibility in fisheries.
Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF)
EJF conducts detailed field-based investigations, coupled with extensive background research to inform high-level advocacy directed at policy makers and key industry stake-holders. In some circumstances, EJF will provide specialist training and support, both to Government and civil society. We work in collaboration with a diverse range of stake-holders.
Winrock International
In Bangladesh, Winrock works with civil society organizations to build their capacity to raise awareness and advocate for addressing the health risks of fish-drying factories. Winrock also works with CSOs to identify and promote alternative livelihoods and opportunities for vulnerable families and children to reduce the prevalence of child labor in the dried fish sector. In Cambodia, Winrock raises awareness on safe migration and improves livelihoods through resources and training to those who might otherwise be lured into servitude on fishing vessels. Winrock and its partners also work to ensure survivors of trafficking from fishing vessels receive holistic care, reintegration services, and competent legal assistance as they pursue compensation. In Thailand, Winrock has recently partnered with a multi-national corporation to reduce and prevent human trafficking in the Thai fishing sector through: better connectivity at sea, which will enable emergency response and workers‰Ûª voice; development of response protocols that are expected to be implemented throughout the industry, as well as promoting ethical labor recruitment practices. Finally, Winrock is engaging the Thai government in order to improve victim identification, assistance and strengthen complaint mechanisms.
Liberty Shared
Liberty Shared aims to prevent human trafficking through: strategic research: capture and application of information and data: legal advocacy: technological interventions: and strategic collaborations with NGOs, corporations, and financial institutions. Liberty Shared is using its systemic approach to combat slavery and environmental crimes in the fishing industry. This is done by: using research of industry structure and dynamics and the support of the financial sector: sharing key counter-trafficking data and best practices with strategic partners and industry, and channeling intelligence on slavery activities with the corporate community: championing legal and regulatory developments that obligate industry responses to receipt of new information, and improving the understanding of victim identification and protection: creating slavery education and awareness programs to enact change in all sectors of society: collaboration with database providers in the financial sector to share information relevant to anti-money laundering risk and compliance.