Thai Union Group participated in the second annual Bali Process Government and Business Forum held in line with the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime, co-chaired by Indonesia and Australia on 6-7 August 2018 in Bali.
This year’s meeting helped set the Bali Process Acknowledge, Act and Advance (AAA) Recommendations as a pathway for action to achieve Target 8.7 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and eliminate transnational crimes currently afflicting people throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
In a written statement, Dr. Darian McBain, Thai Union’s global director for sustainable development, highlighted the company’s support for the AAA Recommendations a this key platform enabling public and private sector leaders across the Indo-Pacific region to learn from each other’s experiences to eradicate human trafficking, forced labour, modern slavery and the worst forms of child labor.
She stated that Thai Union is particularly supportive of Pillar Two of the AAA Recommendations calling upon governments to strengthen, implement and enforce policies and legislation to encourage ethical recruitment practices, improve transparency across supply chains, and provide support and redress mechanisms for victims.
In line with Thai Union’s SeaChange sustainability strategy, the company has worked to implement ethical policies and business practices, address risks in its global supply chain, and engage and share best practices with other businesses, partners and governments.
‘Thai Union has eliminated recruitment fees for all workers in our processing plants, effective for all future recruitment of workers both from within Thailand and overseas,’ Darian McBain stated.
‘It is incumbent upon all of us, particularly the governments and businesses involved in the Bali Process, to lead in this fight. We do this, in part, through genuine political will, multi-party collaboration, compassion for our fellow humans, and resolute, uncompromising determination to end modern slavery.’
The Forum noted one of the major challenges confronting business in the region, is debt bondage, with 66% of all victims of slavery in the Asia Pacific in forced labour, and more than half of these victims of forced labour held in debt bondage.
