Sammanfattning

This paper explores the question of what traceability systems mean for the labour situation of fishworkers; for whom and in what respects is traceability effective, and what impact do these systems have? The limited social criteria in fishery governance is a core reason for recurrent problems of extreme abuse of fishworkers around the world, including trafficking, forced labour and so called modern slavery. New traceability systems, thus, now include social criteria to advance sustainable fisheries globally. Drawing from a Thai fisheries reform case study, we analyse how the new labour traceability system emerges and is perceived by migrant fishworkers. We base our analysis on interviews, documents and two periods of fieldwork in Thailand. We argue that labour traceability is a double-edged sword. While fishworkers have seen major improvement in limiting extreme abuse, labour traceability has a downsides of state surveillance and costs passed onto workers. Moreover, traceability does not solve underlying problems regarding the complex formalization of migrant workers, working conditions on fishing boats, freedom to change employer or the everyday vulnerability of being a migrant worker. Thus, while labour traceability has promising policy relevance for the integration of labour rights into fisheries governance, it requires contextual underpinning in migrant circumstances.

Nyckelord

Labour; Thailand; migrant worker; fisheries; traceability

Publicerad i

Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space
2022,
Utgivare: SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC

SLU författare

• Kadfak, Alin

  • Institutionen för stad och land, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

Globala målen

Bevara och nyttja haven och de marina resurserna på ett hållbart sätt för en hållbar utveckling
Verka för varaktig, inkluderande och hållbar ekonomisk tillväxt, full och produktiv sysselsättning med anständiga arbetsvillkor för alla
Främja fredliga och inkluderande samhällen för hållbar utveckling, tillhandahålla tillgång till rättvisa för alla samt bygga upp effektiva, och inkluderande institutioner med ansvarsutkrävande på alla nivåer


UKÄ forskningsämne

Tvärvetenskapliga studier
Internationell Migration och Etniska Relationer (IMER)


Publikationens identifierare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486221104992

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/119097