This morning, police arrested 7 people across 3 provinces in across Thailand for allegedly supplying forced labour on fishing boats. This news comes after 3 Thai workers were repatriated from Malaysia in September last year, after being forced to work on a fishing boat, without oversight from authorities.
The 7 arrested today were captured in raids in Samut Prakan, Nonthaburi, and Chanthaburi provinces. They included the captain of a fishing boat, and the boat’s owner. The other 5 allegedly supplied forced labour, according to a deputy national police chief.
Thailand has a problem with trafficking and slave labour in its fishing industry. Despite the government forming teams of officials to check fishing boats when they depart and arrive in port, the problem continues. In 2014, the government introduced the ‘pink card’ registration scheme. The scheme requires fishers to get…
