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Learning Description

To have the intended impact on forced labor and human trafficking in the seafood processing sector, it is important to work with seafood processing companies that employ significant numbers of migrant workers and with recruiting agencies that recruit migrant workers for companies in the seafood processing sector. The project decided to work with two seafood processing companies that Plan International worked with in a previous project, because Plan International had established a trusting relationship with the companies, which allowed the project to begin implementing activities relatively quickly. However, because the companies recruit and employ very few migrant workers, the companies have not been able to fully implement the Responsible Recruiting Model and its policies and procedures and conduct the Cost Benefit Analysis. The project ended up working with four recruiting agencies that do not recruit for the two pilot companies, as originally intended in the project design, and that do not specifically recruit for the seafood processing sector. While implementing responsible recruiting practices should have a positive impact on how these agencies recruit migrant workers, the impact on the seafood processing sector will be minimal.

Learning Description

The willingness of the pilot companies and recruiting agencies to commitment to and participate in project activities is critical and depends largely on perceived benefits. Marine Fine Foods and Rayong Fish Sauce agreed to participate in the FAIR Fish project because, based on a positive experience participating in the Stopping Exploitation through Accessible Services project, they believed they would benefit by learning about international social compliance standards that, in turn, could help increase their access to international markets. A third company, Tey Seng Cold Storage initially agreed to participate in the FAIR Fish project but withdrew before activities started. One of the primary reasons the company withdrew was because it did not want the project staff to interview its migrant workers because the interviews might create expectations about benefits migrant workers should receive but are not currently receiving. Clearly, the perceived benefit from participating in the project activities did not outweigh the risks.

Learning Description

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the seafood processing sector require a simple and easy-to-implement roadmap, including a compelling business reason, to implement responsible recruiting practices. Two key characteristics of many SMEs are a shortage of human and financial resources, and thin profit margins. Unlike larger companies that have more available resources, SMEs need to see a relatively short-term business return on any investment. Also, given the shortage of resources, those SMEs that decide to implement social compliance practices require relatively simple and easy-to-implement processes. These factors make working with SMEs especially challenging.

Learning Description

In an emergency, such as COVID-19, projects require streamlined procurement processes to be able to distribute emergency supplies to beneficiaries in the most rapid way possible to save lives. The project decided to distribute Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) together with information, education, and communication (IEC) materials. Due to a lengthy and complicated process to develop the IEC materials, the distribution of potentially lifesaving PPE to workers and their families was delayed nearly a year after the pandemic started in Thailand. In hindsight, the PPE could have been distributed immediately without the IEC materials. Furthermore, rather than developing IEC materials such as booklets, videos, and infographics, the project might have tapped other organizations developing COVID-19 education materials (i.e., Ministry of Health). Plan International USA also might have simplified its bureaucratic requirements (i.e., requirement for all recipients to sign a form) to expedite the distribution process. Finally, the project decided to place Plan and Fair Fish logos on the PPE and IEC materials, which required USDOL approval. The approval took approximately one month.

Learning Description

Drafting key documents such as the policies and procedures in the Thai language facilitates the ability of the pilot companies and recruiting agencies to review and provide comments. Initially, The Food School drafted and presented responsible recruiting policies and procedures to the pilot companies in English. During the technical assistance sessions, FAIR Fish project staff interpreted the English presentation in Thai. However, it would have been more effective to translate the policies and procedures and other materials to Thai first so they could have been presented and discussed in Thai. As is the case with the pilot companies and recruiting agencies, when the target audience does not speak English, it is more effective and efficient to present and discuss key documents and information, education, and communication materials in the target audiences' primary language to facilitate understanding, discussion, and learning.

Learning Description

For projects that have a strong communication component, having a dedicated communication specialist on board to oversee and guide the communication strategy and activities is essential. The project’s initial staffing structure did not include a communication specialist. The project took advantage of the resignation of one of the Business Engagement Officers (BEOs) to hire a communication specialist, given the large number of outputs related to communicating messages intended to bring about behavior change. In hindsight, having a communication specialist on board at the beginning of the project to oversee the large number of communication-related activities and outputs would have been beneficial. Any project with a strong communication component might consider having a dedicated position to manage the communication activities.

Learning Description

It is critical to design and develop solutions or products with the active participation of end users such as the pilot companies and recruiting agencies. The Food School used Thai labor laws and regulations, as well as international social compliance standards to develop the Responsible Recruiting Model (RRM) and policies and procedures for pilot companies and recruiting agencies. Once developed, The Food School presented and discussed the model and policies and procedures during technical assistance and coaching sessions with pilot companies and recruiting agencies. Although not originally anticipated, the various technical assistance and coaching sessions generated questions and comments from participants that resulted in changes to improve the model and policies and procedures. The technical assistance and coaching sessions also helped the pilot companies and recruiting agencies understand the benefits from implementing the RRM while at the same time, create ownership.

Learning Description

In response to the COVID-19 prevention and mitigation measures, the project shifted faceto-face encounters, such as trainings and meetings, to online formats using primarily Zoom, LINE, and their technology features to increase effectiveness. Shifting the trainings, meetings, and other technical assistance sessions to an online format allowed the project to continue to implement these key activities at a time when Thailand and the rest of the world were either requiring or strongly recommending quarantine measures. In addition to moving project activities to an online format using Zoom and LINE, the project introduced additional technologies to increase effectiveness such as polling, screen sharing, and YouTube videos. The project used the Office 365 online survey to request feedback from the participants of the quarterly learning and information sharing meetings. It also used Office 365 and Google Forms to capture the number of downloads of the soft files (English and Thai) of the migrant route report. While the project implemented these technologies to be able to continue to operate effectively during the COVID19 restrictions, conducting meetings, trainings, and other events via online formats once the pandemic ends could help the project increase efficiency.

Learning Description

The project employed a constructive engagement approach with the pilot companies and recruiting agencies that helped build trust. In Thailand, some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are highly critical of seafood-related businesses and their human rights records. Rather than pressuring these businesses to improve their human rights records, the FAIR Fish project has opted to engage businesses in constructive ways aimed at building trust and developing recruiting solutions based on international standards designed to prevent forced labor and human trafficking in their supply chains.

Learning Description

To build capacity, the project requested that its Business Engagement Officers (BEOs) observe the technical assistance sessions provided by The Food School to the pilot companies and recruitment agencies. The FAIR Fish project understood that the pilot companies and recruiting agencies would require technical assistance after the The Food School contract ended. To help ensure continued technical assistance, the project decided to require that the BEOs join and observe the technical assistance and coaching sessions provided by The Food School. In doing so, the BEOs increased their capacity to support the pilot companies and recruiting agencies after the The Food School contract ended.