Human rights and working conditions

Charoen Pokphand Foods tops the benchmark in human rights and working conditions, followed by Thai Union Group, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mowi and Nueva Pescanova. The two Thai companies in the benchmark reinforce their government’s efforts to prevent and eliminate labour exploitation in the seafood industry. Charoen Pokphand Foods and Thai Union Group both identify risks to human and labour rights, as well as remediate potential adverse human rights impacts that may result from their own operations or through activities in their supply chains. By working with trade and staff unions, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mowi, Nueva Pescanova lead the benchmark in their efforts to respect employees’ freedom of association and right to collective bargaining. Important issues that most companies in the benchmark fail to address are paying a living wage, disclosing their approaches to reporting potential human rights violations and providing details of remedial actions. While a few companies depend on industry collaboration for supply chain oversight, for example by the Seafood Task Force, the leading companies in this measurement area surpass industry initiatives and formulate their own commitments to responsible supply chain management. A majority of companies in the benchmark display efforts to improve health and safety in their operations, though only a few have measures in place to maintain health and safety standards across their supply chains. Furthermore, efforts to encourage gender balance and promote career progression for women are mixed, leaving a large scope for improvement.