Yu Wa, 35, also from Myanmar, teared up at the memory of her previous shed, where she was locked inside and paid by the kilogram no matter how long the work took. Now his salary has increased, and he gets one day off a week. He said he spent six years working 15-hour shifts at shrimp sheds without a day off. I like it,' said Thet Paing Oo, 23, a migrant from Myanmar having lunch in Thai Union's cafeteria. The 1,200 workers get subsidized meals and opportunities for bonuses. One of the biggest, Thai Union, opened a large, clean peeling warehouse at its packing and exporting facility.

Boonchai officials said they weren't yet TFFA members but were taking steps to join.Ĭlearly some Thai seafood exporters have improved working conditions. 'Clearly, this is a difficult long-term issue, but we take it very seriously, and we are working hard on it,' he said.Īt May Ao, an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media said that while Boonchai isn't 'in-house,' they are allowed to do business with each other because they are part of the same association. Global Aquaculture Alliance president George Chamberlain said his organization is gravely concerned and asked for more details for further investigation. You will always find some problems, but those are rare,' he said. He said there's nothing illegal about pre-processing in independent warehouses, and that the media has unfairly singled out his industry. When pressed, TFFA President Poj Aramwattananont said May Ao's factory is too small to handle all the labor. Officials at May Ao and TFFA initially insisted that all shrimp peeling is in-house. May Ao is also a member of the Thai Frozen Foods Association, which promised last year 'to eradicate third-party pre-processing.' Shrimp peeled by Boonchai which enters the supply chains of seafood exported by May Ao carries the Global Aquaculture Alliance's Best Aquaculture Practices certification - which says 'peeling and heading of shrimp must occur in facilities owned by and completely controlled by' the processing plants. But the industry had vowed to eliminate middlemen. 'They don't want to work in this wet and smelly place if they don't have to,' said assistant Jamras Goyari.īoonchai's operations passed a government inspection. But a colleague complained that once workers get legitimate papers, most leave. With new government oversight, Boonchai's workers this year got insurance, housing support and hourly pay, Taweesak said. Standing in a cooled warehouse, workers in gloves, aprons and boots worked at stainless-steel tables. May Ao's own 'May Brand' shrimp has been sold at Kroger and other supermarkets.īoonchai on this day had 107 shrimp peelers who were gutting, deveining and tearing heads off shrimp in icy buckets Taweesak said each is paid the daily minimum wage of 300 baht ($8.50). importers as customers, including Aqua Star and H&N Foods International. 'We're following rules 100 percent.'ĭocuments at Boonchai show it processes shrimp for May Ao Food Co., one of Thailand's leading exporters to the U.S. 'We prepare many tons of shrimp here every day,' said Boonchai Seafood director Taweesak Suralertrungson. The AP recently visited a handful of Samut Sakhon shrimp sheds - some now rebranded as shrimp factories - buzzing with workers hand-peeling truckloads of shrimp on residential streets or behind walls. There's little oversight to ensure they're not being forced to work. Labor advocates say workers can become mired in debt by paying for the jobs in the first place and then being charged room and board. Some are large factories, others nothing more than a large garage. The shrimp-peeling sheds are hidden in plain sight. Yet dozens of pre-processing sheds continue to operate, doing work for at least some of those exporters. Last year, facing a boycott over abuses, major seafood groups and certifiers decided to protect workers by moving all labor in-house, banning outsourcing of shrimp pre-processing. Prasert Siriphanapitat, Samut Sakhon deputy police commander, said five people including a shed owner have been charged in Tin Nyo Win's case. Empty promises, said Win, who said he and his wife weren't even given food sometimes.Ĭol. Those Thai reforms - on paper - include paying whistleblowers like Win as much as $2,800, and providing victims compensation, education, employment and other assistance. State Department commended Thailand for reforms and took the country off a global human trafficking blacklist. In response, the Thai government said victims and witnesses of human trafficking could stay and work in Thailand for up to one year while their cases were investigated.

Hobart shrimp peeler