NYT: “The seafood industry in Thailand suffers from widespread labor and human rights abuses, exposing virtually all American and European companies that buy seafood from there to the “endemic risk” of having these problems as part of their supply chain, according to a report released on Monday by the food giant Nestlé. The report cataloged deceptive recruitment practices, hazardous working conditions and violence on fishing boats and in processing factories. It also faulted the industry for taking insufficient steps to ensure that workers were not underage.”

• Via Nestlé – “Given increasing concerns about labour and human rights abuses in the seafood supply chain and our commitment to eliminate such practices, Nestlé has published an Action Plan (pdf, 650Kb) on seafood sourced from Thailand. It contains a series of actions designed to protect workers from abuses, improve working conditions and tackle unacceptable practices including juvenile and teenage working. Commenting on the release of the Action Plan, Executive Vice President of Operations at Nestlé, Magdi Batato said: “Nestlé is committed to eliminating forced labour in our seafood supply chain in Thailand, working alongside other stakeholders to tackle this serious and complex issue.” “We believe that our Action Plan will help improve the lives of those affected by unacceptable practices. This will be neither a quick nor an easy endeavour, but we look forward to making significant progress in the months ahead.” Read more about our plan, and view our infographic to better understand the actions we are taking.”