Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CPF) is joining hands with the Fish Marketing Organization and other labor agencies to build “a Quality of life development center for labor in fishing and related sectors and their family Songkhla Fishing Port 2 Songkhla Province” to combat human trafficking and to provide a platform to help human trafficking victims or workers who are badly treated.

Mr. Wuthichai Sithipreedanant, Senior Vice President for Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development of Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL. (CPF), said that CPF is aware that only integrated collaboration among the public and private sectors, non-governmental organizations and stakeholders in the entire fishing industry could eradicate the problem of illegal labor and human trafficking within the fishing sector.

“That’s why we are one of the forces to help building the center to assist and receive grievances from workers in the fishing industry victimized by human trafficking,” Mr. Wuthichai said. 

There is a real need for a center to build a network of volunteers to assist migrant workers as well as to support human trafficking victims and their families. The center aims to help fending off potential problems in the future as well.   

According to Mr. Wuthichai, Songkhla Province has been selected as a location for this center as the province sees an alarming increase of those falling prey to human traffickers.    

CPF has so far supported budget to renovate the center, improve its facilities and equip the center with necessary amenities. The center is located at the Office of Songkhla Fishing Port 2 (Tha Sa-an), Muang District, Songkhla Province, will be completed and open in November. The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the Stella Maris Seafarers' Center, Songkhla Province, will be local collaborators. The center aims to assist fishermen and workers in the fishing industry of Thai, Cambodian, Myanmar and Lao nationals working in Songkhla area, migrant children and their families 

residing at the Songkhla Fishing Port and its vicinity and those vulnerable to human trafficking. 

The center’s committee is to be chaired by president of the Fish Marketing Organization with members from the public sector; namely, Office of the Labor Welfare and Protection, Songkhla Province, as well as others from the IPPF, the center itself, businesses operating at the Songkhla Fishing Port and CPF. The committee will review and evaluate projects run by the center. The idea is to allow these projects to achieve the goal of preventing illegal labor and human trafficking while enhancing quality of life of fishermen and their families.  Migrant workers in the fishing industry are expected to be able to read and understand Thai and possess vocational skills that allow them to look after themselves and their families and prevent them from being re-victimized by human traffickers.

The center is divided into four areas. While one section is allocated as a classroom for migrant children, the rest is set as a prayer room, an infirmary and multi-purpose space for use as an office, a coordination center and a meeting room. One of the center’s tasks is to build and expand a network of migrant worker volunteers to mobilize help and protection for adults and children vulnerable to be human trafficking victims. The center will also be a training ground and a place for language study and vocational training of migrant workers and their children. In addition, preliminary healthcare will be provided at the center, which will also act as a place for workers to conduct their religious or faith-based activities. Besides, labor-related grievance can be filed at the center.

“This life quality enhancement center is one of the projects that underlines CPF’s commitment to collaborate with all sectors to fulfill our policy of promoting and safeguarding human rights while nurturing sustainability in our production chain,” Mr. Wuthichai insisted, “our goal is to resolve labor problems in the Thai fishing industry although we own neither a fishing boat nor a fishmeal factory and although we are quite down the chain from the entire fishing industry.”