The global seafood industry isexpanding rapidly, becoming anincreasingly important source ofnutrition for the world’s popula-tion. It also provides livelihoodsfor millions of people.
But the workers who are helpingto build the industry are toooften deprived of their right todecent working and living con-ditions.
Media reports constantly con-firm that the seafood industry isrife with barbaric abuses of basichuman rights including slaveryand forced labour, trafficking,unsafe working conditions andthe widespread denial of thefundamental human right ofworkers to form, join and berepresented by a trade union tonegotiate working conditionswith employers.
CITRA MINA / PHILFRESH CORPORATIONPhilfresh part of the Citra MinaGroup of Companies — one ofthe largest tuna exporters in thePhilippines and a leader in theAsia/Pacific tuna industry. It is afamily owned group of compa-nies, led by Joaquin T. Lu.
In September 2013, when work-ers formed a legally registeredtrade union, the company re-sponded with mass dismissalsof union members. Citra Minaworkers, widely supported bytheir local community, have refused to be intimidated andsince 2013 have been fightingfor their rights.
Citra Mina workers are demanding reinstatement andrecognition of their union.
GlobalSeafoodworkersdemandrights, dignityand respect
As the Global Sea Food Expoopens its gates to help companies benefit from European market access,workers in Morocco, the Philippines andIndonesia continue to campaign for justice at Philfresh (Citra Mina), Dohaand Phillips Seafood.
Rahmoun Abdellah. Photo: IUFDoha workers. Photo: IUF
LES CONSERVERIES MAROCAINES “DOHA” /AVEIRO / BICHA GROUPDoha is a leading producer of canned fish in Agadir, Morocco. Most of itsproducts are sold in Europe. When the company tried to dissolve theunion, 500 workers came out on strike to defend their organization. Thecompany retaliated by hiring 500 new workers in violation of the labourcode and sued the union and its members for punitive financial ‘dam-ages’, demanding EUR 278,000 from union leader Rahmoun Abdellah.Since Abdellah cannot pay the fine, the court ordered 'precautionary con-fiscation' of his apartment, whose mortgage he is paying.
Doha workers are demanding recognition of their union, reinstatementof the dismissed, for all lawsuits against them and Rahmoun Abdellah to be dropped and are calling on Doha to negotiate in good faith.
Citra Mina workers. Photo: IUF
PHILLIPS SEAFOODPhillips Seafood, a US companyrelies on brutal exploitationand disposable jobs. 60 percentof the company’s workforce inIndonesia is on permanentstandby and never know fromone day to the next if they willreceive a text message callingthem to work.
Phillips has outsourced manyjobs to “mini plants” that arelittle more that isolated, pri-vate homes in the forestwhere the workers toil underthe direct supervision of
For more information contact:International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) www.itfglobal.org @itfglobalunion
International Union of Food and Allied Workers (IUF) www.iuf.org [email protected]
Phillips but for half or less ofthe meagre daily piece wagethey received for the samework at the factory on the daysthey are called to work.
The workers are not recognizedas employees and although theysuffer constant cuts and woundsfrom extracting crab meat byhand, they have no insurancefor work-related industries.
Phillips Seafood workers andtheir union are resisting thisbrutal treatment. They are de-manding that the company endthe outsourcing to the miniplants, return the work to thefactory under acceptablehealth and safety conditionsand enter into good faith ne-gotiations with the union onemployment and sustainablejobs.
The IUF and the ITF arecalling on the companiesto resolve these conflictson the basis of respect forinternational human rightsstandards. NO
to seafoodtainted withhuman rightsabuses!
Today, at the Brussels SeafoodExpo, we call for meaningful,targeted action by govern-ments and industry to put anend to the human rights abusesin the global seafood industry.
We demand that retailers takemeaningful, verifiable andmeasureable action to pressuretheir suppliers to conform to in-ternational standards. Their ob-ligation to do this is clearlydefined in the UN Guiding Prin-ciples on Business and HumanRights and the OECD Guidelinesfor Multinational Enterprises.
We call on the European Com-mission to develop concretemechanisms for ensuring respectfor human rights by the compa-nies whose products are im-ported into the European Union.
Respect for freedom of associ-ation and trade union rightsmust be fundamental to anyand all criteria for access to theEU market.
Phillips Seafood workers. Photo: IUF
