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Nestle Uses Slaves To Catch Fish
It has been revealed that corporate giant Nestle have been using slaves to catch seafood in Thailand.
Impoverished workers in Thailand are sometimes sold or lured under false premises to be used as manpower on fishing boats which then catch and process fish for Nestle’s suppliers.
Following numerous reports by journalists and non-governmental organisations Nestle launched its own investigation into the claims, which then shockingly turned out to be true.
"Sometimes, the net is too heavy and workers get pulled into the water and just disappear. When someone dies, he gets thrown into the water," one Burmese worker told the charity Verité which is helping Nestle with the investigation.
The majority of seafood caught using slaves were tied to prawns, shrimps and the Purina pet food brand. These findings were similar to Associated Press reports that 2,000 fishermen had recently been rescued in the region owing to widespread slavery in the seafood industry.
The workers are generally migrants from Thailand's poorer neighbours, including Cambodia and Myanmar.
Nestle are not however, the only company which is alleged to use slave labourers to catch it’s seafood, with the majority of companies that buy seafood products from Thailand being associated with the $7 billion trade.
Nestle are now being sued by pet food buyers who disagree with the fact they have unknowingly purchased seafood which was caught through the use of slaves.
Such disclosures by multinational corporations are rare with Nestle promising to publish a report on the matter each year. Watch this space.
