In April, 2,000 migrant workers in a factory in Thailand that processes shrimp for a major supplier to Walmart revolted against their abusive and degrading conditions. The workers, from Cambodia and Burma, protested the seizure of their passports by factory owners in Thailand. Police were called. Shots were fired.
Sign the petition to Walmart here! [1]
It wasn't just the passport seizure that incited the workers' anger - it was management slashing wages again. Their wages already failed to cover the most basic needs, and this latest action put workers deeper into the factory's debt. Many of them are still legally and financially trapped at the factory, victims of human trafficking.
This is not an isolated incident. Also in Thailand, workers at a pineapple factory recently held similar protests over wage reductions. There are now reports of human trafficking involving children under 15, bought and sold to work there. More than 73% of this factory's shipments to the USA go to Walmart.
We only know about these abuses because the workers' revolt spilled out onto the streets. The problem is almost certainly far worse - and extends beyond the borders of Thailand. But we don't know for sure and neither does Walmart. Walmart's own internal system claims to protect against these abuses, some of which have been described by the Bangkok Post as "the equivalent of actual slavery". The system doesn't work.
Walmart's internal auditors schedule visits to factories - a deeply flawed practice that allows owners to coach workers and hide the most egregious abuses. On the other hand, independent monitors show up unannounced, don't aim to please factory owners, and provide a real check against some of the worst abuses - that is why they are so desperately needed.
Sign the petition to Walmart's VP of Ethical Sourcing, calling for him to demand these factory owners end human trafficking immediately and allow independent monitors to audit all of their factories.
For more information, and to sign the petition, click here [1].