Worker Voice

ASC recognises the importance of placing workers, as key rightsholders, at the centre of our programmes. This has several dimensions, including:

1. Ensuring employees are aware of their rights and building their capacity to defend them where needed.
2. The freedom for employees to join trade unions or informal associations to bargain collectively about their working conditions.
3. Mechanisms at farms and feed mills through which employees can speak up about grievances or when change is necessary.
4. External grievance mechanisms that are independent of the farm or feed mill.

ASC is currently conducting research to understand the implementation of worker voice related requirements in the standards (collective bargaining, freedom of association and grievance mechanisms) in some key seafood producing locations.

The results of this work will inform guidance and continuous standard development, to ensure that ASC’s standards are relevant for all rightsholders.

Worker voice is an area where collaboration is critical, and ASC welcomes all opportunities to collaborate with workers’ organisations, human rights organisations and other NGOs on this topic.

Contact person: Clare Stevens

Strengthening Worker Engagement in Seafood

We and other members of the Certification and Ratings Collaboration engaged the Issara Institute to understand seafood worker engagement best practices and opportunities to accelerate progress. The report and the Collaboration’s recommendations for seafood businesses demonstrate that progress can be complicated but is not impossible.

This project was possible thanks to a grant from the ISEAL Innovations Fund, which is supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and UK International Development from the UK government (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office).