LABOR CONDITIONS IN THE BANGLADESH SHRIMP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 002309

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB PGOV SENV PHUM BG
SUBJECT: LABOR CONDITIONS IN THE BANGLADESH SHRIMP
PROCESSING INDUSTRY



1. (SBU) Summary: While Bangladesh wants to increase its
annual shrimp exports from $300 million to a billion dollars
over the next decade, current labor practices undermine its
ability to boast productivity and win new markets. End
Summary.


2. (U) Bangladesh's second largest export, after ready made
garments, is processed shrimp. In 2004, it shipped $300
million worth of shrimp to the EU and US. Most of the shrimp
processing, the de-shelling, de-veining, and packaging, takes
place in the city of Khulna, located 350 kilometers southwest
of Dhaka. Khulna, on the Kunga river within the water- rich
Sundarbans region of Bangladesh, is also close to Mongla
port, making it a logical location for shrimp processing for
export.


3. (U) The majority of shrimp processors have plants that
front the Kunga river. Shrimp is brought in from nearby
shrimp farms which are former rice fields now flooded with
the brackish water of the Sundarbans. The farmers raise the
fry or hatchlings to market size in the ponds, with some
farmers using pesticides and antibiotics to increase yields
and the size of their shrimp. The farmers take on debt to
buy the fry from wholesalers in the hopes of reaping a large
return on their investment. However, once they flood their
fields with the brackish water, returning the land to other
uses requires eliminating the salt. Consequently, many are
locked into raising shrimp.


4. (U) Shipped to the processing plants on locally
constructed ships, the shrimp are transferred from the boat
to the processing plants by young boys aged eight to 12 and
paid less than half a taka per kilo. (There are 60 taka to
the dollar.) The transfer is done in small baskets with the
boys balancing the loads on their heads across dirt roads to
the processing plants. There is an unloading quay for the
several processing plants but, like most infrastructure in
Bangladesh, it is barely adequate.


5. (SBU) Once in the processing plants, the shrimp are
chilled and placed in large stainless steel buckets where the
shrimp are washed. Many of the workers are women, mostly in
their mid 20s. Many are glad to have the work in this very
rural part of Bangladesh where even college graduates rarely
find work. The shrimp processing industry is new and many
workers started out in their teens. Using children as young
as 12 is, while not common, more the rule than the exception.



6. (U) Outside a processing plant, poloff observed several
young girls wearing rubber boots. They said they worked in a
nearby processing plant where they weighed bags of processed
shrimp. When asked their age, one said she was 14 years but
the other girls giggled and said she was only 12 like them.
In response to a question if they liked working the
processing plant, they said it was cold and they don't have
gloves. As a result, their hands dry out from being in water
and cold all the time. She showed poloff her hands which
were chapped and still white from immersion in water.


7. (U) Older women, those in their 20s, perform the peeling
and de-veining of shrimp. However, in some processing
plants, small children are sometimes used to peel the shell
from the shrimp. One plant manager explained, "Where the
women work, so go the children" meaning that without day care
the children have no choice but to stay with the female
parent. However, some women actually prefer taking their
children with them to work. In such cases, women who have
permanent employee standing have asked to be retained as
contractors and to paid by the weight of shrimp peeled.
Being paid by weight, the use of children is advantageous to
the contractor/employee, but being a contractor means when
the seasonal down time comes, they are the first to be let go.


8. (U) Due to climatic conditions, monsoons and the breeding
cycle of the various types of shrimp, there are peak and
slack seasons. Most workers admit that there is really only
sufficient work 10 months of the year. During the down
times, some workers are let go while others are given other
tasks to perform tasks unrelated to their normal work. For
example, if they are peelers, they may be given jobs such as
mopping floors or moving equipment. However, during peak
times, many work up to 14-16 hours a day. Many managers
defend such practices, noting that they are at the mercy of
the weather and the intensive nature of shrimp farming; all
the shrimp grow best and mature according to the season.


9. (SBU) Many owners defend their practices by saying that
the shrimp processing business is very competitive and they
need every advantage possible to reduce costs and improve
their competitive edge. Other owners see value in fairer
labor practices and are working with USAID's Shrimp Seal of
Quality (SSOQ) program. Participants in this program agree
to adhere to a high degree of sanitary conditions, high level
of sound processing practices including not using shrimp
raised with antibiotics or pesticides, and maintaining fair
labor practices and working conditions. Such practices
assure US and EU wholesale buyers that the shrimp they
purchase conform to modern and fair industry practices.


10. (SBU) Comment: Both the Bangladesh government and the
shrimp processing industry see potential for the $300 million
a year industry to grow into a billion dollar industry within
ten years. While the BDG supports the SSOQ, the majority of
processors resist improving working conditions citing the
need to maintain a high level of productivity.
THOMAS