International Appeal to Thai Pineapple Industry Association to urge Natural Fruit to drop cases against labour rights defender Andy Hall
August 8, 2014
RE: TPIA action requested in case of Natural Fruit v.Andy Hall
note: An unofficialThai translation of this letter is attached and available at:
http://business-humanrights.org/en/letter-to-thai-pineapple-industry-association-on-andy-hall-thai
Dear TPIA Member,
We write to youtoday to express deep concern with recent actions by a fellow member of theThai Pineapple Industry Association (TPIA), Natural Fruit Co. Ltd., and NaturalFruit’s CEO and TPIA President, Wirat Piyapornpaiboon. The case Natural Fruithas brought against labor rights researcher, Mr. Andy Hall, has received international media attention and has beendescribed as an “international embarrassment” to Thailand. Natural Fruit’sapparent effort to silence human rights defenders tarnishes the reputation ofthe TPIA and the entire Thai pineapple export industry. We ask that you takeimmediate action within the TPIA to urge that Natural Fruit drop its caseagainst Andy Hall and cooperate with worker groups and NGOs to resolve allegedlabor rights violations at its factories. If Natural Fruit continues on itscurrent course, TPIA members should act together to preserve the integrity ofthe organization by sanctioning Natural Fruit, up to and including removal ofMr. Wirat Piyapornpaiboon as TPIA president and revocation of Natural Fruit’smembership in TPIA.
Natural Fruit filedits first criminal defamation charge against Mr. Hall on February 4, 2013,after he contributed to a report by the Finnish NGO Finnwatch that allegedserious labor rights abuses at the company’s factory in Prachuap Khiri Khanprovince. The report, Cheap has a High Price, gathered worker interviewsto document violations including child labor, underpayment of wages, confiscationof migrant workers’ travel and work documents, and failure to provide legallymandated paid sick days, holidays and leave. Natural Fruit has continued tofile cases against Mr. Hall, now totaling three criminal defamation charges,one civil defamation action and two criminal charges under the Computer CrimesAct. If found guilty of all the charges, Mr. Hall faces up to seven years inprison on each count and about $9.5 million in damages. The trial is scheduledto begin in September 2014.
Both before andafter publication, Finnwatch and Mr. Hall made overtures to Natural Fruit torequest comments and work together to resolve the issues alleged in the report.If, as Natural Fruit claims, the allegations are false, it should bestraightforward for the company to clear up any issue and demonstrate that itis adhering to labor laws. By refusing to work with civil society and insteadlaunching an aggressive legal battle against Mr. Hall, Natural Fruit is sendinga message that it would rather intimidate critics and silence those whoadvocate on behalf of migrant workers than engage in genuine dialogue aboutconditions in its factories.
We would hopeinstead that Natural Fruit would pursue the matter in accordance with theUnited Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, whichcalls upon businesses to “address adverse human rights impacts with which theyare involved” as a foundational principle.
TPIA should notremain silent while its President’s company undertakes punitive, unjust actionsagainst Andy Hall. Already, internet searches for the Thai Pineapple IndustryAssociation bring more results condemning Natural Fruit for its actions thanpositive stories of your work promoting the Thai pineapple industry. Thisnegative publicity hinders TPIA’s ability to carry out its stated mission, andthe trial has not yet even begun. Once the trial has begun, current andpotential buyers may weigh the risks of becoming associated with the case andits connection with the TPIA and its member companies.
To protect itsmembers and the industry it represents, we believe that TPIA must takeimmediate action. We hope that you will work with other members of the TPIA toencourage Natural Fruit to drop the charges against Mr. Hall and engageconstructively with civil society to demonstrate that all its members are incompliance with labor laws. If Natural Fruit refuses, we ask that the TPIArevoke Natural Fruit’s membership and remove Mr. Piyapornpaiboon as TPIApresident.
We hope you willgive immediate attention to this issue and look forward to a response outliningyour plans regarding Natural Fruit. We would also welcome the opportunity todiscuss this matter with you further.
Sincerely,