ILO

Back to index

Combatting unacceptable forms of work in the Thai fishing and seafood industry (Better Fisheries Programme) - Final evaluation

eval_number:

2547

eval_url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/eval/2547

lessons_learned:

themes:

theme:

Tripartism & constituent partnerships

category:

Organizational issues

---

comments:

The lesson is relevant for the ILO, donors, and tripartite partners in the participating countries.

challenges:

See below

success:

Effectiveness was dependent on the ILO’s ability to forge relationship with implementation partners that are committed to the same objectives and have the institutional capacity to carry out programs, including governance, leadership, management, staffing and systems. While it was envisioned that services would be provided in 12 coastal provinces, in practice the project reached seven. The principal limitation was the lack of adequate staffing and resources. Partners had small field staffs in some, but not all targeted provinces. Field staff is critical to organizing efforts and the provision of migrant services, including legal counseling. Migrant workers are prohibited from forming or leading unions under the Labor Relations Act. Still, the project achieved some success in organizing migrant workers. With the support of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), the Fishers’ Rights Network (FRN) was publicly announced in May 2018. At this point, more than 2000 fishers in Ranong, Songkhla and Trat have signed membership cards. Another 150 workers in Songkhla have registered as members of the Southern Seafood Industry Workers Group (SSWG) with the support of the State Enterprises Relations Confederation (SERC). This result is due to extensive outreach and organizing activities carried out through multiple channels, including training events, informal meetings and social media. Migrant leaders report that training and peer-to-peer discussions have given them a better understanding of their rights under Thai law. So far, much of the activity of the organizations has focused on political advocacy; their ability to negotiate with employers for better pay and working conditions is still to be demonstrated. Bargaining power is limited.

context:

In February 2016, with the support of the European Union (EU), the International Labour Organization (ILO) launched a four-year, €4.2 million project titled, Combatting Unacceptable Forms of Work in the Thai Fishing and Seafood Industry (THA/15/03/EUR - 105548). The project aims to “prevent and reduce forced labour, child labour and other unacceptable forms of work and progressively eliminate the exploitation of workers, particularly migrant workers, in the Thai fishing and seafood processing sectors.” One of the objectives of the project was to expand services to migrant workers. Roughly, 20 percent of the budget was allocated to civil society organizations (CSOs) to expand migrant services under implementation agreements with the ILO. Services can be grouped under five broad headings: worker organizing, worker training, legal counseling, welfare services, and social dialogue.

description:

Success is dependent on the capacity of implementation partners.

administrative_issues:

Design / Resources

url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/lessons/217329

---

location:

country:

Thailand

region:

Asia and the Pacific

---

eval_title:

Combatting unacceptable forms of work in the Thai fishing and seafood industry (Better Fisheries Programme) - Final evaluation