A “historic moment” for fisherman in fight against slavery at sea
A case brought by four Indonesian fishermen who are survivors of slavery at sea just cleared a major legal hurdle. A San Diego federal judge declined tuna giant Bumble Bee’s request to dismiss the suit, meaning the landmark case can now move forward toward trial. Freedom United has long supported efforts to hold Bumble Bee accountable and previously joined partners in signing an open letter demanding justice for the fishers.
Trace My Catch? Fake My Catch
Bumble Bee is accused of standing by while human trafficking and forced labor took place on boats hired as part of its “trusted fleet.” It comes on the back of a previous settlement launched by Greenpeace in 2022. Using Bumble Bee’s own “Trace My Catch” tool Greenpeace revealed an ugly truth. Bumble Bee was sourcing tuna from multiple ships US authorities suspected of using forced labor. Accordingly, the result was the company had to remove claims mentioning a “fair and safe supply chain” and “fair and responsible working conditions.” Sadly, this latest case shows Bumble Bee still stinks of slavery at sea.
Agnieszka Fryszman, a prominent human rights attorney from the firm Cohen Milstein who is the lead attorney for the plaintiffs said in an MSN article:
This is an important step towards making one of the world’s most dangerous jobs safer and more fair for the fishers who work so hard to put food on American consumers’ plates and who should not be subject to forced labor.
The plaintiffs in the case allege they were promised good jobs on boats part of Bumble Bee’s “trusted fleet.” Tragically, once onboard they were subjected to physical abuse, deprived of food, and denied medical care.
Fryszman stated:
… These men endured horrific physical abuse, hunger, and debt bondage while working aboard Bumble Bee’s so-called “trusted fleet” tuna vessels … We look forward to holding Bumble Bee fully accountable under the law.
After months of backbreaking labor and isolation at sea the men also had another nasty surprise. Unexpected fees and paycheck deductions had left them destitute in another form of modern slavery, debt bondage. That’s when they said enough is enough.