Asian countries facing human rights challenges : seminar
The issue of human rights has emerged as a key challenge in the food supply chain in Asia, with some workers being obliged to work in unsuitable environments and being paid an unjust wage, according to a seminar.
Sal Forest, Thailand's first sustainable business accelerator company, hosted a seminar on Friday that looked at human rights trends and challenges in the food supply chain in Asia.
Speakers included Sarinee Achavanuntakul, managing director of Sal Forest, and Prad Kerdpairoj, director of Sustainable Asia at Thai Union Group.
Sarinee cited Sal Forest’s research study “Supply Chain Issues and Sustainability Policies in South and Southeast Asia”, which focuses on the food supply chain in the main food industries in Asian countries. These include Thailand’s palm oil, Indonesia’s fisheries, Sri Lanka’s and Bangladesh’s seafood, and Vietnam’s coffee sectors.
Sarinee said that workers, especially women, are exploited and abused.
She explained that workers in some South Asian countries have unsuitable working environments, as evidenced by shrimp collectors in Bangladesh who spend 6–10 hours a day working in brackish rivers.
Those labourers run the risk of being bitten by snakes and crocodiles and developing severe diseases, including waterborne disease, skin infections, and urinary tract infections, she said.
She added that they also could not access proper health facilities due to their financial incapacities.
Moving closer to Thailand, Sarinee said that several companies in Southeast Asian countries have violated human rights among indigenous groups.
She said that marginalised people are obliged to work and meet a high target set by companies.
To manage these intense tasks, the company seeks more labour, mostly among family members of existing workers, she said, adding that the firms usually leave them unpaid and pay only one worker in a family.
Sarinee also pointed out the issue of gender discrimination in Asian states, saying that women are usually paid half than men despite having equivalent duties.
To prevent these problems, Prad said that Thai Union Group would allocate a budget of over 7.2 billion baht to promote human rights issues, aiming to have a concrete result by 2030.
He said that the company was strictly aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
