Global unions welcome Finnish food chain report
Global unions the ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) and IUF (International Union of Food, Agricultural
and Hospitality Workers) today welcomed the release of research by Finnish group Finnwatch into the human cost of that
nation’s cheap supermarket food. The report, available at http://finnwatch.org/uutiset/123-finnwatch-research-ongoing-serious-rights-abuses-found-in-export-orientated-pineapple-factories-in-thailand follows up an earlier report Cheap has a high price, which traced back the supply chain of two common supermarket own brand food products: pineapple juice and tuna fish
processed and tinned in Thailand.
Cheap has a high price revealed serious violations of basic human and labour rights in Thai factories involved in the production of major
Finnish and European retail chains' products. It included testimonies from workers describing the use of forced and
child labour, unlawfully low wages, excessive overtime, abuse by managers and unsafe working conditions. The follow up
report from Finnwatch – an independent NGO focusing on global corporate responsibility – looks at what retailers and
factories have done to address the serious issues raised.
Liz Blackshaw is programme leader for the joint ITF/IUF From catcher to counter initiative, which works with fishers to
build worker representation and improve conditions across the fishing industry. She commented: “Fishing and fish
processing are two of the most unregulated industries in the world. In some places the business model is predicated on
modern slavery, appalling conditions and the criminal maltreatment of workers. Typically, a blind eye is turned to this
by the authorities, and there are no independent trade unions to protect workers’ rights.”
She continued: “We are helping to build unions that can safeguard these exploited workers, and we applaud the light
being shone by agencies such as Finnwatch onto the appalling abuses they are having to endure. We regularly work with
organisations such as the IMO (International Maritime Organization), ILO (International Labour Organization) and
Interpol, and alongside them we welcome the valuable contributions being made by NGOs that are carrying out much needed
investigations into issues such as exploitation, illegal fishing and human trafficking.”
For more about the From catcher to counter programme see www.itfglobal.org/fish/index.cfm
ENDS