TUF defends sourcing policy after report of violations in fishmeal chains
Thai Union Frozen Products (TUF), the world's leading processor and exporter of canned and frozen seafood products, yesterday released a statement reiterating that its ethical business-sourcing policy prohibited any form of forced labour, child labour or
The statement came in response to a recent report by a UK newspaper on human-rights violations in Thailand’s fishmeal supply chains.
The news sent shares of Charoen Pokphand Food falling by one baht, or 3.57 per cent, to close at Bt27 a share yesterday, and those of TUF to lose 1.52 per cent, closing the day at Bt65.
“The Thai Union Group would like to restate that its ethical business-sourcing policy prohibits any form of forced labour, child labour or exploitation of human rights, and that it is working uncompromisingly to comply with the international standards to prevent human-rights violation of any kind,” said Thai Union Group president and CEO Thiraphong Chansiri.
“Our suppliers have been made known [of our policy] and had taken cooperative efforts in assuring that there is no human trafficking in their chains of business conduct,” he said. He added that Thai Union had made it very clear that any misconduct in relation to human trafficking would result in suspension of a trade relationship, with no compromise.
As a responsible global corporate citizen, the group’s business units work rigorously with its Thai and international partners to take meaningful steps to promote the human rights and well-being of the people in all its business networks, said the group chief.
This ensures its own employees and suppliers’ understand the code of conduct relating to labour practices and the responsible sourcing of raw materials, he added.
Thai Union Group gives its full support to Thai trade associations, government officials, NGOs and other key stakeholders in order to play a part in tackling such serious issues in the Thai fishing industry, he stressed.
Interested parties have been working increasingly intensively following the “Trafficking in Persons” (TIP) report rating on Thailand by the US Department of State. “Thailand’s industry associations have been jointly working extremely hard as a ‘Thailand Team’ in order to tackle and improve good-labour practices in the fishing industry since 2010, and this has shown a significant standard improvement to date,” he said.
