In Anfaco's latest effort to fight off overseas competition, the group of Spanish canners says the Philippines tuna industry does not qualify for free market access to the EU because it is failing to abide by international labour laws.
In a press release, Anfaco says a recent report by Verité, a global consulting firm that specialises in labour rights, found tuna workers in the Philippines "are in a total state of subjugation and helplessness."
"The report shows that the tuna sector workers have limited ability to control or change any of their working conditions. The system is set by those who have more money (or business owners), and workers feel that their only option is to accept things as they are," says Anfaco.
According to Anfaco, the report shows several failures in the Philippines tuna industry; there is no system in place to make complaints, and the tuna worker will be blacklisted from future employment if a complaint is made; overtime work is not compensated; the fishing industry lacks written contracts and wages are not properly distributed so fishermen are in permanent debt.
The Philippines is set to be integrated into the European Union's (EU) "GSP+" preferential trade scheme in 2014, which would give tuna suppliers in the Philippines duty-free access to the EU market.
The GSP+ scheme helps developing countries and is meant to act as an incentive to good governance and sustainable development.
Earlier Anfaco has said that the EU trade deal with Papua New Guinea, which has preferential trade treatment with the EU and does not pay import tariffs, is a major threat to the Spanish workforce.
The Spanish organization views the special treatment as unfair to local producers who are required to meet more requirements. Also then the organization complained about bad social working conditions in PNG. However a later EU sponsored investigation brought no such circumstances to light.
Then later last week, it was reported that Anfaco would like to see a temporary ban on canned tuna imports from Thailand, after multiple Thai products were rejected by the EU for failing to meet food safety standards.
Source: Atuna
Image Source: Asian Correspondent