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Building Socially Responsible Seafood Supply Chains through Worker Voice
WHAT IS WORKER VOICE? 2 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS
1. Capturing the voices, experiences, and needs of workers in a safe and voluntary way
2. Linking workers into a clear mechanism for remediation
…which means that not all worker reporting tools such as polling, surveys, complaint boxes are worker voice
Questions that business may want to ask themselves when considering or implementing worker voice (or any worker feedback tool):
• What are the risks when data is collected from workers in the absence of a clear, safe mechanism to drive change, remediation, and justice?
• Is there a clear response protocol to protect workers from reprisal after using the worker feedback channel?
• Beyond protection from reprisal, how is the information channeled and processed to lead to improvements on the ground (…or is it not?) How is this monitored?
BUSINESS CAN HELP TO INCREASE DEMAND FOR WORKER VOICE AND SAFER, MORE ETHICAL WORKER FEEDBACK TOOLS
Issara is an NGO based in Southeast Asia that utilizes data and analytics, technology and worker voice, and business collaborations to support global brands, retailers, and importers to gain visibility of and address labour issues at all tiers of their supply chain.
Issara has a unique model that is solutions-oriented and gets to the root causes of labour issues through worker voice – issues that social audits do not uncover.
ISSARA INSTITUTE
Who We Are
Our AimTo leverage our labour expertise, unique business intelligence, and position on
the ground to help business partners:
Increase visibility of labour and social risks throughout their supply chains. Help suppliers implement solutions to labour risks in ways that improve
business systems, and engage the feedback and experiences of workers. Assist and refer exploited workers in need.
Issara Geographic and Industry Coverage
Regional presence:
Industry coverage:
Thailand(current)
Myanmar(current)
Indonesia / Malaysia(2018)
Cambodia, Vietnam
(2018/2019)
We engage workers through multiple channels: in person at the facilities; in the communities; via our Myanmar-language Golden Dreams smart phone app (similar to Yelp); FaceBook; Line/Viber (similar to Whats App); and a multilingual helpline.
We work in both source and destination countries for migrant workers.
Issara receives 2,000+ messages/calls a month from workers, ranging from questions about health issues, translation, and navigating the foreign migrant worker registration system, to serious issues of forced labour, debt bondage, and trafficking in persons.
ISSARA WORKER VOICE
Multiple Channels to Engage Directly with Workers
DIRECT OUTREACH
• In communities• In the workplace• In housing• Pre-departure - source
side engagement in (Myanmar & Cambodia)
• Ambassadors program
1MIGRANT WORKER
HELPLINE / FEEDBACK
2
• Migrant worker platform• Yelp-like rating of employers, labor
providers, NGOs• Alerts, notifications, guides
ISSARA GOLDEN DREAMS SMARTPHONE APP
3SOCIAL MEDIA & MESSAGING
PLATFORMS
• 85,000+ Facebook users• Closed Facebook chats• Direct messaging with workers
4
Myanmar language: 1-800-010-180Khmer language: 1-800-010-181Lao & Thai language: 1-800-010-182
• Over 5,000 calls per yr.• Staffed 100% in-house• Free to callers• Open 24-hours, 7 days per week
Solving Labour issues in supply chain through worker voice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjfl6wycyic
Issara’ Inclusive Labour Monitoring (ILM) model built on collaboration with the suppliers
ILM provides a “safe space” for suppliers to work on reforms/remedy/solutions when issues are reported to Issara (we do not campaign or conduct advocacy), while also keeping our Strategic Business Partners informed (and engaged) about supply chain labour risks.
Ultimately we help responsible/ethical sourcing teams to ensure good working practices through their supply chain, help suppliers strengthen systems (ie grievance mechanisms, recruitment practices, and working conditions), and assist and empower workers.
ISSARA INCLUSIVE LABOUR MONITORING (ILM)
WHAT DO WORKER VOICE AND INCLUSIVE LABOUR MONITORING LOOK LIKE?
WORKER VOICE-DRIVEN ETHICAL RECRUITMENT
Most labour abuses in the region are tied to debts undertaken in the “first mile” of recruitment – this debt isthe reason why brokers and employers may treat workers differently, limiting their freedom of movement,discriminating against them in some way, or worse. Thus – removing debt bondage and other ‘first mile’ riskscan help to improve working conditions and labour risks at destination.
Q. How can an employer know for sure if a worker was ever indebted to a broker or made promises to regarding work and pay that are fraudulent or unethical?
A. Worker voice-driven ethical recruitment!
Q. How can upstream worker voice uncover and eliminate debt and lack of transparency in recruitment?
A. A civil society network at source + collaboration with recruitment agencies and government = Displacement of exploitative middlemen + a more enabling and transparent environment for safe, legal migration
• Taking a market systems development approach helps to incentivize positive behaviours industry-wide.
• Empirical approach, with agencies and employers working together to jointly identify areas requiring improvement and verify improvements from worker voice.
• Not picking winners!
INTEGRATING WORKER VOICE INTO SEAFOOD SUPPLY CHAIN TRACEABILITY: WORKER VOICE AT SEA
• Issara Institute partners with communications technology companies Integrated Monitoring, Inmarsat, and Trinity Roots, to develop a cost-effective solution for catch documentation and traceability (eCDT), labour monitoring, and worker connectivity (including worker voice/text, internet, and social media).
• We aim to show that key data elements (KDEs) about catch, labour (crew welfare), and vessel tracking can be captured and bundled together on the vessels and then flow via encrypted, open APIs to both the government and the supply chain where it can integrate into existing Department of Fisheries (DOF) databases, support GS1 standards and tie into electronic data interchanges (EDIs) further down the global supply chain.
• Recruiting vessels now, with a focus on Thai petcare and tuna (later shrimp/fishmeal). KDEs affirming worker voice, and other labour conditions (e.g. hours of rest) would be distributed throughout the test supply chains, and this project aims to pair product traceability documentation with electronic and video verification of crew welfare.
• Issara Institute is leveraging its partnerships with prominent seafood buyers in the US and Europe to create increased demand for traceable and labour-safe Thai seafood and petcare products in a way that positively incentivizes harvesters and processors in Thailand.
• Issara values aligning the incentives and interests of both businesses and fishermen, so that improvements on the vessel improve both businesses and working conditions, in a way that costs of system improvements are shared in a fair manner by all benefitting stakeholders across the value chain.
ISSARA GLOBAL FORUM Innovation in Human Rights and Responsible Sourcing
• 3-day global forum with high-level government officials, global and local business leaders and innovators in the field of responsible sourcing, labour rights and trafficking experts, and migrant workers
• Discuss current practices and new models to address business & human rights & labour exploitation in global supply chains• Next Issara Global Forum will be held in Bangkok November 7-9, 2018
Building Socially Responsible Seafood Supply Chains through Worker Voice
BRIEF AGENDA
•Thailand – Context and Situation Updates•Brief highlights from workers survey•Role of national CSOs in empowering workers
•An Oxfam perspective - why worker voice is crucial to responsible supply chains?
A Sign of ProgressWhich of the following documents do you
have? (N=293)
Key Concerns – contract signing/retentionsDo you recall signing an employment
contract? (N=285)Do you possess a copy of your
employment contract? (N=265)
Working hours/Health & SafetyHours of work in a 24-hour period at sea?
(N=291)Are crew provided with basic medicines
and first-aid supplies by the vessel operator? (N=299)
Do you feel adequately informed about your rights at work? (N=293)
What channels do you you to access information about your labour rights? (N=299)
CSO Coalition for Ethical and Sustainable Seafood
CSO Coalition
Seafood Task Force
Govt.Public
Retailers Exporters
Worker’s Rights
Fishmeal Traceability
Fishmeal production
US Government
National Dialogue
Situation Updates
Progress Report
CSO Coalition for Ethical and Sustainable Seafood
EU Government
International Advocacy Efforts
Oxfam’s Perspective – Worker Voice•Workers as Assets/Voice as a Power –distribution of values and worker’s rights in global supply chains have been diminishing
•Women’s concerns received little attention –despite being the majority of workforce in seafood processing
•’Trust-building’ and genuine accountability and transparency institutions– supermarkets, suppliers, government and NGOs
Where workers in supply chains organise, they can boost wages and cut working hours
Worker Feedback
Worker Dialogue
Worker Participation
Worker Representation
Worker Voice Spectrum
Management-focus
Worker-focus
Recommendations – Worker Voice1. Create internal and supplier’s commitments
• Internal buy-in (Production/Sustainability)• Prioritising suppliers that give greater voice to workers
2. Proactively remove barriers to freedom of association• Support for workers organising• Trade Unions/workers committee/representations• Leverage your company’s influence – legal environment
3. Build trust and engage with ‘unusual suspects’• NGOs/Trade Unions/Workers organisations• Contextual difference/cross-learning from other sectors
4. ’Don’t fix our problems, without us!’
• Private sector engagement
Building Socially Responsible Seafood Supply Chains through Worker Voice
