June 2, 2015 — BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) — Working conditions for migrants at Thai seafood factories that supply the bulk of the world’s canned tuna have improved, rights advocates said on Tuesday, but problems remain such as forced overtime and physical punishment.
Researchers interviewed a total of 20 Burmese workers from two factories – Thai Union Manufacturing (TUM) and Unicord PCL of the Sea Value Group – for a study published on Tuesday by Finnwatch, a Finland-based research and advocacy organisation that has monitored the two factories since 2012.
They also examined migrants’ salary receipts, work permits and receipts for work permit fees, and offered some rare good news in an industry that has come under fire for abusive working conditions sometimes amounting to modern slavery.
“The two factories that we studied, Unicord and TUM, have indeed improved their working conditions,” said Finnwatch executive director Sonja Vartiala.
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