Thailand – Advancing Workers’ Rights

Thailand is one of the most advanced seafood producers in the world. Home to a highly efficient shrimp and seafood industry that supplies markets across the globe. Yet behind this success lies a human dimension that often goes unseen. Among the hundreds of thousands of workers who sustain the sector are migrants from Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, many of whom speak different languages and, in some cases, cannot read or write.

This complexity makes communication, fair treatment, and inclusion a daily challenge. Through a partnership with Thai Union, we have been working to address this, amongst other improvements. Ensuring that progress in aquaculture also means progress for the people who make it possible.

Working Together for Fair and Safe Workplaces

Our collaboration focused on improving amongst other things, social responsibility practices at farm level, helping producers and processors strengthen policies around worker welfare, contracts, grievance mechanisms, and access to information.

In Abril 2025, I joined the teams on site, to assess and verify these improvements, and provide recommendations on how to tackle challenges. Aligning with ASC’s social standards while ensuring the process remained practical for farms and clusters.