Thai Union’s primarily Thai, Myanmar and Cambodian workers are recruited in Thailand or directly through formal channels engaging licensed recruitment agents in Cambodia and Myanmar.

The move follows the company’s continued development of an ethical migrant worker recruitment policy and has been welcomed by the Migrant Workers Rights Network (MWRN), whose mapping of all Thai Union’s factories and processing plants this year highlighted challenges in recruitment as requiring an urgent response.

In recent months, Thai Union has focused on reducing the potential for abuse and extortion by agents and brokers in the recruitment of migrant workers.

By committing significant resources and time to dealing directly and building stronger relationships with recruitment agents in Cambodia and Myanmar, the company has been able to map out recruitment processes more effectively, with MWRN providing oversight and supervision, thereby reducing costs and complexities.

Darian McBain, global director of sustainable development for MWRN, said Thai Union’s ethical migrant recruitment policy has already been applied to the use of agents for all migrant worker registration processes in Thailand, such that its workers cover no additional costs should Thai Union choose to utilise agents for these processes.

This policy will now be extended to all foreign recruitment for this year.

“One of the key platforms in developing a truly sustainable future is the need for all employees to have access to safe and freely chosen employment.

“Debt bondage resulting from recruitment has no place in our workplaces,” he said.

Andy Hall, international affairs adviser for MWRN, said Thai Union was moving openly, cooperatively and quickly to address MWRN’s remaining concerns regarding working conditions of its workers.

MWRN has recently completed factory mapping exercises across Thai Union Manufacturing, Thai Union Group factory, Thai Union Seafood and Songkhla Canning Company, with complete transparency and open access during site visits alongside full cooperation in sharing all internal documents, audit materials and information relating to key areas of workers’ conditions.

“Not only have MWRN’s team of migrant worker leaders had an opportunity to observe positive practices which benefit Thai Union’s workers, but we also found strong cooperation and a willingness to fix compliance and welfare concerns we raised,” he said.

Thai Union has been working with MWRN’s leadership since 2013 to address migrant worker concerns about conditions in Thailand’s major export factories.

In January, Thai Union and MWRN formally launched a cooperative project to validate progress in addressing remaining concerns in migrant workers’ conditions in these factories.