426 chicken farmers under CPF’s contract farming pledge their commitment to apply the Good Labor Practices (GLP) at their farms to upgrade their labour management standards after completing the GLP training program organized by Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CPF).

Mr. Witaya Sonsit, an owner of Witaya Sonsit farm, said that the GLP training helped him understand more about labour laws, which he will apply to his chicken farm located at Tambon Koktoom, Muang District, Lopburi Province. He expects that the learning will be applied to specifically improve his hiring and labour management in the areas of special welfare, social security and documentation. This should help enhancing the wellbeing of four workers, which, he said, should increase the farm’s efficiency as workers are happier.

Ms. Sudaporn Suwattanodom, an executive of Golden Farm Co Ltd (GDF) at Nakhon Ratchasima Province, one of CPF’s chicken supplier, said that the GLP training made her realize that the labour situation in Thailand’s chicken farming industry had been in the interest of consumers worldwide. Her company has already applied the GLP to improve the recruitment system. At present, there are 20 workers in her farm, of whom 11 are Myanmar workers. The company has actively underlined the wellbeing of farm workers by putting an emphasis to equal treatment of all workers. “Our staff has been well taken care of as if they are our brothers and sisters.”

CPF Senior Vice President on Human Resources, Mr. Parisotat Poonnapoom, said that CPF has actively educated chicken farmers who supplied chicken to CPF as well as our executives and staff of the Good Labour Practices. Trainings were held in provinces nationwide. The last workshop was held for farmers in Prachin Buri, Chachoengsao, Nakhon Nayok and Chonburi provinces. Today, all 426 chicken farmers under CPF have completed the GLP training. This should upgrade our practices with workers in farms to the international standards, Mr. Parisotat said.

“All farmers have expressed their commitment with CPF to apply the GLP principle in their labour management at respective farms. Besides, they are ready for CPF and relevant authorities to audit their practices to ensure compliance with the GLP and the international principles,” Mr. Parisotat affirmed.

CPF will now entrust the GLP working committee comprising executives and representatives from its Human Resources Department to audit and assess the GLP practices at farms participating in the CPF’s chicken-farming program without advanced notice. The working committee will also provide advice farmers on how to improve the way they take care of their workers. CPF sets a goal for all CPF’s chicken farms to fully comply with the GLP by 2016.

Mr. Parisotat said that CPF currently sets three levels of measures when finding any farm failing to comply with the GLP. Level 1 measure involves requirement for farm owners to improve their practices within a specific deadline. This applies when forced labour is found in the farm, for example, when employee’s clock-in time and attendance were nowhere to be found due to the use of forced labor. Level 2 measure means CPF will stop buying chicken from a relevant farmer until the non-compliance is remedied. This applies to repeated non-compliance with the GLP found again at the same farm. Finally, Level 3 measure, which is the harshest, will apply to human trafficking cases or upon serious labour violation such as hiring illegal labour and under 15 year child labour. “In this case, CPF will immediately terminate a contract with the farmer,” Mr. Parisotat said.

Promoting and supporting chicken farmers in the meat chicken supply chain to manage their labours in line with the GLP is one way to enhance the competitiveness of CPF chicken farmers to compete with their counterparts in Asean and worldwide.  Simultaneously, the GLP also improves quality of workers life in chicken farms, which will send a message to customers and consumers around the world that Thailand’s chicken products are an outcome of a production process that actively embraces fair, equitable and good labor management in accordance with legal principles and internationally-accepted standards.