Ship to Shore Rights – Combatting Unacceptable Forms of Work in the Thai Fishing and Seafood Industry

The project aimed to strengthen the legal and policy framework and its application through a combination of measures including improved labour inspection, voluntary multi-stakeholder compliance initiatives, and the empowerment of workers and civil society to hold industry and government accountable. The project used the Good Labour Practices Programme (GLP) a fisheries industry improvement programme that combines the establishment of industry labour guidelines with a supportive good labour practices training programme. Special attention is given to addressing unacceptable forms of work, such as child labour and forced labour. The project supported the development and enforcement of the regulatory framework. This was complemented by voluntary compliance initiatives developed through a broader partnership of different stakeholders, fostering positive learning and practice, dispute resolution. Subcontracting to civil society organisations and trade unions was a strong component to hold the Government and industry accountable to the standards in the law and in the voluntary initiatives; it also provided much-needed services and assistance such as education and training to victims. The various components were inter-linked and mutually reinforcing. The outputs and the information generated from one have directly influenced interventions in another. During the initial project start-up phase, research were undertaken to better inform geographically targeted interventions including a mapping of civil society organizations and their capacities, and services available or to be developed. A project steering committee provided overall strategic guidance, assessed and adapted activities, analysed the conclusions and recommendations of the external evaluations.