Four Indonesian fishermen have stepped forward to bravely open a lawsuit against the multimillion-dollar company Bumble Bee Foods, accusing them of forced labor, abusive working conditions, and debt bondage among other things.
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This lawsuit has been filed in the Southern District of California and claims that the employees on the fishing vessels of Buble Bee Foods have been suffering. They claim that they work in unsafe conditions, are often subject to abuse, have their wages withheld, and are denied medical care while working. They have each spoken about their personal experiences, and they are harrowing.
Two of the fishermen working for Bumble Bee Foods suffered grievous injuries while working on the tuna boats. They were both forced to continue to work. Syafi'i, who was hired as a cook on the Tuna boats in 2001, suffered burns. Hot oil splashed on his body and legs, burning the skin.
Akhmad, another Indonesian fisherman, said he was struck by falling crates while working on the fishing boat. Despite the injury tearing the skin down to the bone, he was forced to continue working. Another previous employee of Bumble Bee Foods revealed how they were kept in check.
Muhammad Sahrudin claims that they were regularly beaten and abused while working. He said he was beaten, whipped, and even poked with needles so many times he lost count. The final plaintiff claims that food was often so scarce on the BBF tuna boats they had to eat the bait for fishing.
Bumble Bee Foods Liked To Forced Labour Practices
In 2020, a Withhold Release Order was filed against the Da Wang fishing vessel. They had found credible evidence of forced labor practices. This included physical violence, debt bondage, withholding of wages, and abusive living and working conditions. This ensured that fish caught by Da Wang couldn't be sold in the US.
However, the Da Wang fishing vessel was found to be linked to BBF through a parent company. This raised concerns that Bumble Bee Foods was still using tuna caught on fishing vessels implicated in forced and unsafe working conditions.
In 2022 Greenpeace found tuna cans being used by Bumble Bee Foods that had come from the Da Wang vessel. They were purchased in Arlington, Va. The company supplies Bumble Bee, Brunswick, Sweet Sue, Snow's, Wild Selections, Bumble Bee SuperFresh, and Clover Leaf.
