Supply Chain Spotlight News 03/07/2019

Representatives of the avocado industry in Mexico are reportedly suffering between seven and ten full-truckload thefts of product, representing about $103,000 in losses, per week. The industry representatives also allege that thieves are employing technology that disrupts any attempt to remotely disable a stolen cargo truck. Although BSI is familiar with thieves using GPS jamming technology, this is the first report of thieves actively countering the more advanced vehicle kill switch.

The Swedish Dockworkers Union is beginning an indefinite nationwide strike at all ports across Sweden beginning March 6th. The strike is reportedly the result of a long-standing collective bargaining dispute.

Police in Ky Son District, Vietnam rescued several children who were reportedly on the way to work at area garment companies. Officials indicated the children, all under the age of 16, went to work while their parents labored in agriculture. Labor recruiters reportedly paid the parents a fee in exchange for hiring their children

Work at a quarry site in Mqabba, Malta has ceased following a government intervention under suspicion that the construction being performed at the site was illegal. However, non-governmental organizations concerned with human rights noted that workers at the site were almost all foreign workers from Turkey, and had either been housed, or were intended to be housed, in metal shipping containers. This raises concerns about the treatment of foreign workers in Malta. It also raises questions as to the adequacy of government bodies to detect and intervene in instances of poor working conditions and forced labor, given that the government’s concern was that the structures were illegal, rather than intended to serve as human living spaces.