27 July 2018

Australian retailers are being urged to do more to ensure their imported seafood is not being produced by slave labour.

The Seeing Slavery in Seafood Supply Chains report...aims to promote better awareness among seafood buyers, sellers and traders...

While stricter Australian laws and policing ensure Australian-made products are mostly free from the influence of slave labour, Thailand, Indonesia and China’s fishing industries are reported to be rife with forced labour....

The Walk Free Foundation’s...Fiona David said “...we’re importing products into our supermarkets that may have been produced by forced labour.”

...Unregulated labour brokers in countries such as Thailand and Indonesia also often target refugees and illegal immigrants from countries such as Myanmar, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Nepal, knowing they can’t complain to the authorities.

...Consumers are urged to examine their seafood's country of origin...countries with known human trafficking and slavery issues should be considered suspect.

The Federal government has committed [AUD]3.6 million to establish a modern slavery business engagement unit...to address slavery in their supply chains and operations...