Correspondence
Email sent to Linda Brown, Senior Vice President of SCS Global Services.
The email said: "We are contacting you in light of our latest investigation which concerns the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry. We have found visual evidence of North Korean workers at three MSC-certified plants in Liaoning Province, China: Donggang Haimeng Foodstuff, Donggang Jinhui Foodstuff and Donggang Fuxing Food. SCS Global Services is identified in the MSC’s records as the certifier for each of these plants. While we are unable to share the evidentiary materials with you at this time, we can say it includes videos of North Korean workers at Donggang Haimeng and Donggang Jinhui in 2023. A documentary film released in 2018 by the non-profit The Why Foundation reported that there were many North Korean workers at Donggang Fuxing. Can you clarify if SCS Global Services’s audits at either of these plants noted the presence of North Korean workers?"
Jason Swecker, Managing Director of Seafood at SCS Global Services, replied: "Thank you for reaching out, and I hope you're having a great start to the new year. I'm writing to confirm that the three companies you mentioned are indeed MSC Chain of Custody (CoC) certificate holders under SCS: Donggang Haimeng Foodstuff Co., Ltd. certified since November 2016. Donggang Jinhui Foodstuff Co., Ltd. Certified since October 2018. Donggang Fuxing Food Co., Ltd. Only certified since June of 2023.
With the exception of the information on the MSC & ASC supplier database (links provided above), SCS is bound by confidentiality agreements, which restrict us from sharing specific details about our clients, including worker nationality. That said, I want to assure you that SCS treats any allegations of misconduct with utmost seriousness. This applies to all of our certificate holders, regardless of the specific requirements or exemptions within the standards we audit. If you are able to provide actionable evidence, it would significantly enhance our ability to conduct a robust and prompt investigation.
I also encourage you to provide evidence directly to the MSC. I'd like to take this opportunity to elaborate on SCS's role as a certifier and how the MSC CoC standard attempts to address labour issues. Initially, the MSC CoC standard focused solely on traceability audits to confirm the origin of fish sold under the MSC and ASC labels. However, recognizing the importance of ethical labour practices, MSC has evolved its CoC standards over time. This has led to the current MSC Labour Eligibility Requirements for CoC certificate holders as follows: At application and before every annual audit, clients must declare whether they have been convicted of forced or child labour violations in the past two years. A conviction makes them ineligible for certification. For applicants or certificate holders with high-risk activities (e.g. processing, manual off-loading, etc.) an additional requirement to address risks associated with these activities is required.
There are two options for meeting this requirement as follows: Completing at initial audit and annually thereafter a MSC CoC Labour Self-Assessment form Or, complete a conforming 3rd Party Labour Audit (e.g. amfori BSCI, SMETA, SA8000, etc.) I can confirm that the three companies in question have met one of these criteria at their most recent audits. In cases where a self-assessment is submitted, the MSC may conduct an independent labour audit to evaluate its adequacy or determine if a third-party labour audit is needed. The role of SCS CoC auditors is to verify compliance with these reporting or self-declaration requirements. It's important to note that MSC CoC audits do not directly assess labour compliance. Labour audits are carried out by auditors with the appropriate level of qualification, experience, and training to ensure a conscientious, competent, and impartial assessment.
I hope this clarifies our certification process and the standards we are obliged to uphold at SCS."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Thanks for your email and your engagement with us on this issue. We are aware of the requirements for MSC CoC certificate holders to undergo either a third party labor audit or an initial audit followed thereafter by annual self-assessment. What we are asking specifically is whether SCS conducted any form of labor audit on these plants? At present, our information indicates that SCS signed off on the three plants’ labor eligibility requirements for MSC certification, but if this was not based on any SCS labor audit then please clarify."