Compliance to global aquaculture standards on human resources:

A case study of selected shrimp farms in Thailand

Arlene Nietes Satapornvanit1, David Little2, Kriengkrai Satapornvanit1

1Faculty of Fisheries, Kasetsart University, Thailand

2Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Scotland, UK

Introduction

• A case study* of selected shrimp farms regarding their compliance to aquaculture standards on human resources – focus on the workers

• Global standards in aquaculture:• cover worker welfare - emerging consensus that labor

conditions and employee welfare on farms are at the same level as environmental management, animal welfare and food safety for sustainable and ethical production of seafood.

• require that farms should comply with local and national labor laws to ensure worker safety at work, no exposure to health hazard, compensated properly, and provided with good on-site living conditions including training to perform their tasks related to chemical handling and hygiene standards.

*Satapornvanit, AN. 2014. Sustainable Development of Export-Orientated Farmed Seafood in Thailand. PhD Dissertation. University of Stirling, UK. 434 p.

Technical Guidelines on Aquaculture Certification (FAO 2011)

• Socio-economic aspects are as important as other aspects of aquaculture in terms of standards and compliance • Aquatic animal health and welfare• Food safety• Environmental integrity

• Socio-economic guidelines• Socially responsible manner• National rules and regulations• Workers treated accdg to national laws and ILO-convention

on labour rights (incl wages, benefits, working conditions)• Safeguarding livelihoods of workers and communities• No child labour /accdg to ILO and international standards only

Global certification standards• Best Aquaculture Practices or BAP (GAA-BAP, 2013)

• Global Good Aquaculture Practices (GlobalGAP, 2011; 2012) & Thai GAP

(Pre-Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) for shrimp)

Description:

• Standards for shrimp farms

• The main areas in relation to people in the farm such as workers:

• workers’ safety and occupation health

• worker welfare and living conditions, employee relations

• legal aspects and documentation including labour laws

• knowledge and training provided

• Not included in the standards

• Aspects of quality of life / Workers’ perceptions / Gender perspective

Who is a shrimp farm worker?

• Depending on the scale of operations, shrimp farms have various types and levels of hired persons to undertake various tasks in the farms.

• In the Thai language, the term ‘worker’ refers to one who is doing the manual/ pond work in the farm, domestic work, driving vehicles, and guarding the farm.

• The term ‘employee’ or ‘staff’ refers to one who works in the office or laboratories or machinery or oversees the workers. This could include the managers, technicians, and those involved in accounting and administration.

Who is a shrimp farm worker?

• The basic unit of the shrimp farm is the pond.

• A worker (usually male) is assigned to take care of one pond.

• A pond worker can also be a female, but oftentimes, the tasks given to female workers are ‘female’ or light tasks.

• If a married couple or a husband and wife team is hired or contracted to work in the farm, they are assigned at least 2 ponds, or the whole farm, depending on the size and scale.

• Research hypothesis: • Working conditions in large scale shrimp farms are much

more compliant with labour standards set by 3rd party certifications than small scale farms.

• Research questions: • Are the workers in large farms more likely to be treated

according to the standards for worker welfare than in small scale farms?

• Is the quality of life of workers in large scale farms better than those in small scale farms?

Rationale:

Methodology

• A sequential mixed methods approach

• In-depth or face to face surveys were conducted among shrimp farm owners, managers, workers

• key informants from government and non-government groups.

• A gender lens was also applied to some aspects.

Methodology: Survey Instruments

A semi-structured questionnaire was used for the face to face surveys, with the following main topics:

• Recruitment and migration pathways

• Working and living conditions

• Worker tasks and benefits

• Gender dimension on access to assets and opportunities, decision-making

• Workers’ family matters

• Worker well-being

Respondents: face to face surveys

• Shrimp farm owners or farm managers only

• Shrimp farm workers

• Key informants from government and non-government groups related to community and labour issues

Respondents: face to face surveys

• Shrimp farm owners/managers - categorized according to farm scales (small, medium, large) • Contacted and the purpose of the face to face survey

was explained, and then appointments were made for interviews with the farm owners or managers.

• 5 female, 24 male (29)

• Farm workers - requested permission from farm owners / managers to interview their farm workers.• 6 female, 12 male (18)

Farm Scale Designation Sex Number Remarks

Small Owner & Manager Male 8Lessee & Manager Male 2Owner Female 2 Husbands as co-owners &

managersOwner Female 1 Hires an external manager

Owner Male 1 Hires an external manager

Medium Owner & Manager Male 7Manager Male 1Manager Female 1

Large Owner & Manager Female 1

Owner & Manager Male 1Manager & Shareholder

Male 1

Manager Male 3Total 29

Information on farm owners and managers interviewed

Sector Organization Level Sex NumberGovernment Departments

Of Employment/Labor Protection &Welfare

Provincial FemaleMale

33

Sub-district Administrative Organization

Subdistrict Male 3

Non-government

Labor / Social NGOs

National/International

MaleFemale

21

Academic/ Research

Regional Female 1

Intergovernmental

Labor International Male 1

Key informants interviewed for worker issues

Shrimp Farm Scales used in this study

Criteria Small Medium Large

No. of ponds Up to 2 3 and above N.A.

Business

ownership

Household/

extended family

Household/

Extended family/

external owner

Company/

corporate

Farm

management

Household/

extended family

Household/

extended family/

external owner/

hired manager

Hired manager

Labour relations Up to 2 hired full-

time labour

3 and above hired

full-time labour

Hired employees/

full-time labour

Results

• The majority of the farms were aware of these standards and guidelines which promote worker safety and occupational health and safety as well as employer - employee relations, in shrimp farms.

• The standards required them to comply with local and national labor laws in order that workers are adequately safe in the working environment, not exposed to health issues, compensated properly, and provided with good on-site living conditions including training to perform their tasks related to chemical handling and hygiene standards.

Profile of shrimp farm workers: small scale farmSex Nationality Tasks Remarks

Female Migrant Takes care of ponds

(liming, cleaning,

feeding, checking)

keeping record

Husband is also

working in the farm.

Both of them take

care of the whole

farm.

Male Migrant Takes care of ponds

(cleaning, feeding,

check water)

Wife (Thai) and

children stay with

him in the farm but

only he works in the

farm.

Male Local Takes care of ponds

(cleaning, feeding,

check water)

Wife and children stay

with him in the farm

but only he works in

the farm.

Profile of shrimp farm workers: medium scale farm

Sex Nationality Tasks Remarks

Male Migrant Takes care of 2ponds,

maintenance & repair

of all farm equipment

Wife and child stay

with him in the farm

but only he works in

the farm.

Male Migrant Takes care of ponds,

puts feed in auto

feeder, cleaning,

check feed, shrimp &

water, keeps record

Wife stays with him in

the farm and helps

in some pond work.

Male Migrant Takes care of 3

ponds, puts feed in

auto feeder, cleaning,

checks feed, shrimp

& water, keeps record

Still single

Profile of shrimp farm workers: large scale farm

Sex Nationality Tasks Remarks

Female Local ‘Female’ tasks (her

term): measures pH,

checks water, gives

feed, turns aerators

on and off, clean

area

Husband is also

working in the farm.

She gets her own

salary. Their children

are not staying with

them.

Female

(head

of

workers)

Local Takes care of all the

workers (11 ppl)

and 1 pond. Checks

water quality,

Prepare, measure &

distribute feed to

workers. Take care

of emergencies.

Her husband is also

working in the farm,

taking care of only 1

pond. Their children

are studying in their

home province (not

here) and live in a

dorm.

Profile of shrimp farm workers: large scale farm

Sex Nationality Tasks Remarks

Male Migrant Takes care of 2

ponds, feeding,

Machine

maintenance, check

screens, nets,

cleaning area

Wife is staying with

him and also working

in the farm in the

inventory/ inputs

section. Children in

home country.

Male Local Takes care of 1

pond, fixing

autofeeder &

paddlewheels of all

ponds in his zone,

maintain area

together with

workers in zone

Wife and 2 children

staying with him in

the farm. Wife is not

working as she is

looking after the

children.

Previous occupation of workers

• Implications on their expectations re: jobs, salaries, working & living conditions

Recruitment pathway of migrant workers

Farm Scale

Type of worker

Sex Much better-off

Better-off OK

Small Local Male 1

Migrant Male 1

Migrant Female 1

Medium Local Male 2

Migrant Male 1 3

Large Local Female 2 2

Migrant Female 1

Migrant Male 1 1

Total 5 10 1

Perceptions of shrimp farm workers on their quality of life

Emotional (12x) Economic (7x) Social (7x) Physical (4x)•No pressure, less stressful, happiness factor•Can live together with spouse•More freedom, independence•More comfortable life•Makes a person more mature and responsible•No problems faced•Peaceful

•Spend less money, more to save & send back home•Additional income such as bonus, benefits•Non-monetary benefits such as housing, water, electricity, meals•Fully paid for effort made

•Owners are kind•Enjoyable working with employers & other workers•Respect among each other in the farm•Familial atmosphere living in the farm

•Mechanisationreduced workload•Work is easier•On-going production•Better living conditions•Closer to nature

Reasons for workers’ perceptions of a better quality of life.

Needs categorisation modified from Costanza et al. (2007)

“Working on a shrimp farm makes me feel more free than on a fishing boat …I can move around and the workload is lighter because of the machinery we use.” (Migrant male shrimp farm worker).

“We used to work in Bangkok. I worked as a housekeeper in Bangkok while my husband worked in a market in another town nearby. We were not staying together, so we only met on weekends. We wanted to work together and stay together. Working in a shrimp farm allows us to be together. We have more freedom here and can make decisions independently. We have less expenses here.” (Migrant female shrimp farm worker)

Status of Compliance to LabourStandards• Third party certification standards for finfish and crustacean

aquaculture• Global Aquaculture Alliance/Best Aquaculture Practices Certification (GAA/BAP) • Global GAP / Thai GAP

• Emphasis on standards and guidelines which promote• worker safety• occupational health and safety• Employer-employee relations• compliance to local and national labour laws• handling and storage of chemicals

• Workers• adequately safe in the working environment• not exposed to health issues• compensated properly• provided with good on-site living conditions • enough training to perform their specific tasks

• chemical handling • hygiene standards• Technical skills

In general, DLPW ensures that employers in Thailand provide their employees the following: •Working hours: 8 hours/day •Holiday: 13 days/year •Treat women and men workers equally•Safety at work

For shrimp farms: DLPW ensures that employers provide at least the following: - safety in the work place - drinking water - salary payment of at least 1x/month

Safety in the work place: ensuring that workers do not face risk of injury and sickness from equipment, substances, infrastructure, and human forces.

Shrimp farms should follow the same basic guidelines as per labour law:• workers need to work within the time frame• spend some time for meals, work and rest in their accommodation

Housing and bonus are not specified by law for aquaculture farms, but shrimp farmers/operators provide these to their workers anyway, by their own initiative.

Benefits provided to workers

Item Small scale farm

Medium scale farm

Large scale farm

Housing

Water

Electricity

Social security with health insurance

? ?

Meals 3x/day on farm

30 Baht medical card (Thais)

Plain or sticky rice

Gas

Status of compliance to labourstandards in shrimp farms

Some practical actions in the farms :• Chemicals storage and exposure, use – training (companies that

sell)

• Zoning – culture areas are separate from residential especially children are off limits in the pond areas

• Wives more on reproductive role when there are children in the farm

• Location of toilets

• Expiration label on perishables – input substances, feeds, food

• Protective clothing and gear – gloves, hats, long sleeve shirts

• Medical service – importance of legal documents

• Disinfectant – chlorine bath for large scale farms

• Owners should provide clean drinking water to workers

• Proper handling and installation of electronic equipment

• Noise from equipment

• Working conditions in larger scale shrimp farms are much more compliant with labour standards set by 3rd party certifications than small scale farms.

• Workers in larger scale farms seem to experience better treatment according to the standards on worker welfare.

• For all scales, workers perceive that their lives are better off than in their previous situations (other factors considered aside from the standards).

Conclusions:

Recommendations:

• In the methodology to collect information, try to talk with workers outside the workplace, without the presence of employers and/or managers.

• A more standardized education / training program across farms scales

• A more in-depth gender analysis on the differentials in perceptions related to quality of life and occupational health and safety risks.

• Recognition of best practices among aquaculture farms to be shared to others.

• Use of technology in promoting better safety and health on farm.

• Inclusion in the agenda and discourse (political, technical, markets etc)

References• Costanza, R., Fisher, B., Ali, S., Beer, C., Bond, L., Boumans, R., Danigelis, N.L.,

Dickinson, J., Elliott, C., Farley, J., Gayer, D.E., Glenn, L.M., Hudspeth, T., Mahoney, D., McCahill, L., McIntosh, B., Reed, B., Rizvi, S.A.T., Rizzo, D.M., Simpatico, T., Snapp, R., 2007. Quality of life: An approach integrating opportunities, human needs, and subjective well-being. Ecol. Econ. 61, 267–276.

• FAO. 2011. Technical Guidelines on Aquaculture Certification. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, Italy. 133 p.

• GAA-BAP, 2013. BAP Standards, Guidelines for Finfish and Crustacean Farms, Rev. 4/13. ed. Global Aquaculture Alliance, St. Louis, MO, USA. 34pp.

• GlobalGAP, 2011. GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice (GRASP) Module V 1.1. GlobalGAP, Cologne, Germany. 19pp.

• GlobalGAP, 2012. GLOBALGAP Integrated Farm Assurance - Aquaculture Module: Control Points and Compliance Criteria, English Ed. ed. GlobalGAP, Cologne, Germany. 83pp.

Acknowledgment: EU-funded Sustaining Ethical Aquaculture Trade (SEAT) Project (2009-2013)