Child labor in the Thai shrimp industry
Children are massively exploited in the Thai shrimp industry. The children work in factories, where they work long hours for little money peeling and sorting shrimp, according to research by the children's aid organization Terre des Hommes on the International Day against Child Labour.
A significant part of the production is destined for consumption in the European Union. Terre des Hommes wants the Thai government to take measures to protect the rights of the children. The European Union must also put more pressure on companies and ensure adequate regulation, so that trade becomes more transparent and children are protected.
Child labor in Thailand
Most of the children work in Samut Sakhon province, the heart of Thailand's shrimp industry. The majority of the children who work in the Thai shrimp industry come from the neighboring countries of Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, with or without their parents. In Thailand they try to earn a living for family in the country of origin, to help pay for the care of the younger brothers and sisters, or try to build a new life there. In 2012, this involved 20.000 to 30.000 children aged 15 to 17, a smaller group is even younger, according to a report that Terre des Hommes is publishing today. The publication takes place in the context of the International Day against Child Labour, on Friday 12 June.
Undocumented and unprotected
The working conditions in the factories are appalling: children sometimes work 11 hours a day, six days a week, including at night. Safety instructions are often lacking and if something breaks, they have to pay for the costs themselves. Many migrants work in factories that are not officially registered. For them, that is the only place they can go because they do not have the required papers. Applying for a work permit is possible in Thailand, but the procedures are very complex. Migrants are therefore at the mercy of intermediaries who help them find work in exchange for money. As a result, the migrants are immediately in debt. Children also work to pay off these debts.
Transparency
A large part of the Thai shrimp is destined for the European Union: about 13 percent. Due to the lack of transparency, it is difficult to map out exactly how many children's hands are involved. Terre des Hommes wants the Netherlands to use its influence in Brussels to make the shrimp industry more transparent and fair across the entire chain. Adult migrants should receive a full wage, so that they are not forced to rely on their children. Consumers also have their say by asking retailers and restaurants about the origin of shrimps.
Right to education
Terre des Hommes also urges Thailand to take measures so that migrants and their children are not at the mercy of the illegal circuit and are provided with decent workplaces. After all, migrants are badly needed in Thailand; there are not enough Thai workers to do the work in the various industries. Shrimp traders must ensure that social standards are safeguarded so that young adults get decent work and wages and children can go to school as normal. 'Every child has the right to education and protection', says Aysel Sabahoglu, child rights lawyer at Terre des Hommes. Furthermore, companies must respect children's rights throughout their entire procurement and production chain. This must be enshrined in law in an EU context.
Through the Destination Unknown campaign, Terre des Hommes stands up for migrant children who are or are at risk of becoming victims of exploitation. Terre des Hommes provides information about the risks that children run when they migrate and offers shelter, medical care, legal assistance and education to help children have a better life.
Video: Shrimp with an aftertaste
Watch the video here:
[youtube]https://youtu.be/KpE8T-4AwJg[/youtube]
That there is "something" wrong with fishing, they also know that in Thailand.
This 'military' government is the first to try to map everything. Overfishing, bad ships, bad working conditions, bad pay, etc., everything is already known and they don't need "Terre des Hommes" here in Thailand.
Children aged 15 or 17 may be legal children, but is a normal age to start working in perhaps 2/3 of the world.
I also have questions about “Many migrants work in factories that are not officially registered” if you do work here in Thailand without a work permit, the police will be next to you the next day.
And then an entire factory, including unlicensed workers, I can't imagine.
It will be wiser for “Terre des Hommes” if they assist those “children” with education and obtaining official papers. For which this government has set up a special migrant counter.
Are they going to play the big “guy” in Europe, for circumstances that have long been known here and that the government has been working on for a long time to get it sorted out.
Hello Nico,
They really need Terre des Hommes here! Without outside pressure
this government would have done nothing.
Because of that pressure, EU, USA, they have finally started, but they are far from done
enough.
Dontejo.
Man oh man, I started working when I was fourteen, because it was really necessary! After working hours I went to update at a baker, it only got better, why do they make such a problem of it, 15 years are no longer children and you don't die from working, Terre des hommes has nothing better for you to do?
Dear Gerard .
And what were your working conditions like at the time?
And how much was your compensation then .
Where did you sleep , I think at mommy and daddy 's house .
I think it was a lot better than these people have now .
If you want to trade , go and see how things actually work there .
Maybe you will change your response to this post .
Your plea does not get over what is happening here.
Jan Beute.
Gerard,
At the time…
You talk as if “back then” is the norm. Take a look first and then form an opinion.
Your time, when you were fourteen, has not contributed to getting a better view of the existing problems. Or is your view still that of a fourteen-year-old?
Child labor in itself is not so much the point, nothing against earning an extra baht or contributing to the family.
The miserable conditions, housing, the too long working days without or little interruption, the remuneration in which this happens, and then we have not even mentioned all the pitiful situations.
Do you understand it a little better now?
You should really look into this form of child labor. After their working hours, there really isn't any time left to do any touch-ups. And yes, working will kill you there…..
What do they want in Europe now.
Cheap fish products but no illegal labor and/or child labor!
It's one or the other.
You know what we want in Europe Ruddy.
That child labor be abolished. And if we have to pay a little more for the fish because of that
then we do. What a worthless statement (it's one or the other)
As if one consciously chooses a product that has been produced by child labour.
In Thailand it will be worst for them. If it's a good buy. Here it is a bit different
Most consumers do not know at all how the product was created.
Will it be stated on the packaging that the product has been created through child labour
I assure you that sales will drop by 90%.
Dear Gerad for the record I was 13 when I started working at my father's factory
Did I get worse no. But now that I look back, I wish I had enjoyed it a bit more
of my wonderful carefree childhood.
I myself have 4 sons with my Thai wife. And don't tell me that a 15-year-old kid isn't a kid anymore.
That makes no sense.
Let children enjoy life as long as they can. You work to live and not the other way around
I can only vomit from the above comments.
Life is as it is. Nothing would happen without the people of Terre des Hommes.
I'm talking about the comments that justify all that. They cite examples from just after the Second World War.
Cor van Kampen.
Indeed. Some reflect this child labor to their own past, and then conclude that it is not so bad at all. Who then speaks of apples and oranges, or compares one with the other…
Child labor and the current context in which it occurs, that's what we're talking about.
Terre des Hommes is a good observer, charts that well.
Furthermore, it should not be forgotten that these children themselves know nothing more than what they do day in and day out. They don't miss candy or teddy bear, because they don't know that. Feeling hungry and thirsty.
You first have to see it from that perception, and then you can work on the circumstances. Safe working environment, food, rest, compensation, but first of all the question of whether or not child labor is permitted. Is yes or no legally possible? Do the children have papers, are they exploited as a result, … are the factories legal? There is much work to be done. It is precisely the fact that usually only NGOs make the effort to identify this as a problem and to make it open for discussion.
I have seen the Terre des Hommes documentary and I live in Isaan 4 months a year.
I think the situation there is worse. Primary school is completed at the age of 13 and many children, especially boys, drop out or do another one or two years of secondary education and then leave school to try to work. Or go to work and go to school on Saturday. The documentary mentions a salary of 2 Baht per day. In the Isaan that is an average salary for an adult! The young people often do not reach that 300 Baht.
*sigh* hard, hard.
all well-intentioned from Terre des Hommes, but as eg Nico says, 15-17 years is fairly normal to start working. Let me disregard the number of hours/days.
And it's easy for us in the Western world to talk. But in the 3rd world it is a bit different. There are families that have no other option, because money has to come in for food. But we are certified know-it-alls here in the west.
And now an example from current practice: a friend of mine from one of the poorest castes in India has a 1-year-old son. He no longer wants to go to school, but to work. Now I can stand on my hind legs that he has to go to school (of course I pay all the costs), but that won't help him one bit with a job. We all know that, she and even I. So now, at the age of 13, he goes to work voluntarily and everyone is satisfied. Except for those well-meaning aid organizations, probably.
This is not just in Thailand, this is all over the world with the fish catch. I sailed with a Norwegian boatswain who was also sent the Norwegian fish catch with his 12th year. Many more have fallen, including in Holy Europe. I myself was 14 years old and my sister 12 years old when we were sent to work, yes in Holland! Please spare me all those sanctimonious statements
Of course this is the case all over the world, but putting someone to work is something else than exploiting. I also went out into the fields with my grandparents, who were farmers, when I was 12. Nothing compares to what these kids go through. So don't compare your "child labor" with what these children go through, because comparing you to that is only hypocrisy
In fishing places in the Netherlands, children from the age of 15 usually also work at the fish auction. And those are not easy circumstances either. Stone cold, working at night, often days from 12 to 18 hours depending on how busy it is. Physically also heavy depending on what you do. Especially for the boys a lot of lifting, full fish boxes, etc. And it is often also the case that those children are ready in the morning and then go to school on Friday.
On the other hand, it pays a bit more than the normal youth jobs. I've done it myself for years. But if you had such a night of 12-18 hours then you were sick your whole weekend. For the ladies, the work was physically a bit easier, but the days are still very long.
This is only about 10 years ago that I worked there and it is still going on. The group that came after me had to pay quite a bit in terms of salary. Due to the payment structure, it is mainly young children / students who want to do that work, or welfare mothers or asylum seekers, or ultimately people on disability who are looking for some extra income, etc. If you had an 18-hour day behind you, you just had 100 euros deserves but you were yawning for 2 days. Is of course a little more than 300 baht, but not the easiest in terms of circumstances.
Right Ronny.
It is not only about post-pubescents, 15 to 17 year olds.
From the age of 12 they can work 'in the sector'.
While they belong on the school benches. What there is no money for, and this is how the vicious circle starts, which the sector is good with… breaking that negative spiral is no sinecure at all.
Making Terres des Hommes a subject for discussion seems to me to be a first step in the right direction. Identify and map the problem. Long way to go, but well begun is half done.