Phillips
Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Based on what Phillips publishes, with few independent checks. Researched with AI assistance against published rules. Last researched 23 October 2026 · 9 sources · How we check
Baltimore seafood company selling pasteurised crab meat and frozen crab cakes.
Linked to Union rights
In 2022, Phillips' Indonesian crab plant stopped calling in casual women workers who asked for permanent jobs. Phillips hasn't put this right.
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Why it's graded Harm on record
Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements, with 5 red flags.Open why it has this gradeClose why it has this grade
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 5 red flags, 3 of which set the grade: no evidence of a living wage, clear breaches of labour conditions and unaudited production in high-risk countries. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- Holds the grade back: It's Harm on record because of a serious confirmed problem from the last 5 years that it hasn't put right: union rights breach, last recorded in 2022.
Good requirements 2 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsA confirmed problem counts against it: union rights breach, last recorded in 2022
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Not met: Traces its catch to the boat or farm and has crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently
Red flags 5
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Clear breaches of labour conditions
- Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- Red flag: A confirmed problem with pay, rights or safety not shown to be put rightShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 3 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Relies on fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farmShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 3 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and 8 more countries.Open where it's madeClose where it's made
Product labels show Indonesia and Vietnam. Press and retailer reports name the Philippines, Thailand, India, Ecuador, Mexico and the United States. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Indonesia | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| India | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| Ecuador | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Philippines | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Mexico | Regular violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| United States | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| AustraliaUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| NorwayUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
Evidence
1 confirmed issue, 1 unconfirmed report, 3 things we found and what 1 independent source says.Open the evidenceClose the evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: fishing fleets and processing plants have some of the worst documented forced labour, including trafficked crews held at sea for years.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Relies on fish and seafood from fishing boats and farms, where crews and farm workers, often migrants recruited into debt, have been held for months or years, beaten and denied pay, out of reach of factory audits. It hasn't shown any steps to trace its fish and seafood to the boat or farm or have the conditions of the people who catch or farm it checked, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes Phillips says it owns and runs its own crab, seafood and fish processing plants across South East Asia plus a plant in Maryland, but does not name the countries; its crab meat tubs are labelled as products of Indonesia and Vietnam, and a press listing names plants in the US, Ecuador, Mexico, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. In Indonesia its crab is shelled by hand, mostly by women. It publishes no vessel or fisher list, labour audits, certifications or modern slavery statement.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| US Department of Labor goods lists | On the goods list | The US Department of Labor lists seafood from Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand as produced with child or forced labour. View |
Confirmed issues 1
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | At its Lampung crab meat plant in Indonesia, Phillips kept workers on casual contracts for years, dismissed 172 casual workers in 2015 and backed a management union whose verification, the IUF says, the provincial labour department ruled unlawful; in 2022, 40 casual women workers at its Pasuruan plant stopped being called in after asking for permanent jobs (IUF 2015-2023; ITUC). Source · search the archive | NoPhillips refused to negotiate permanent status, said only its US owner could decide, and did not respond to press questions; no reinstatement reported. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- Indonesian union organisers said in 2017 that Phillips had shifted crab picking to rural 'mini-plants' where women work on short-term piece rates (In These Times, 2017). Source
Sources and actions
9 sources, company details, and how to send evidence or a right of reply.Open the sources and company detailsClose the sources and company details
Sources 9
Show all 9 sources
- American Phillips Seafood Company (ITUC Global Rights Survey) · search the archive · 2015: 205 workers fired by text to outsource to home workers; 50 rehired as non-union day workers; management-backed union; provincial labour department ruled the verification unlawful
- Phillips Seafood: 'sustainable' fisheries, disposable jobs (IUF, 2015) · search the archive · Phillips Foods relies on 17 overseas plants; half of Lampung workers casual; 172 casual workers dismissed on 29 April 2015
- Indonesia: Union continues to demand permanent jobs for Phillips Seafood workers (IUF, 2017) · search the archive · Over 100 precarious workers at the Lampung crab plant; management refused to negotiate, saying only the US owner could decide
- Indonesia: Workers mobilize to fight disposable jobs at Phillips Seafood (IUF, 2023) · search the archive · In November 2022, 40 women casual workers, some with 20+ years' service, stopped being called in after asking for permanent jobs; protests at Pasuruan factory
- Seafood fact sheet: child labor and forced labor in seafood production (US Department of Labor, ILAB) · search the archive · Lists Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand among countries with documented child or forced labour in seafood production
- Phillips Wild Caught Premium Lump Crab Meat 8 oz (Giant Food) · search the archive · Phillips crab meat sold at US supermarkets; country of origin Indonesia and Vietnam
- Phillips Special Crab Meat 8 oz (H-E-B) · search the archive · Phillips crab meat labelled Product of Indonesia
- Organizers Say Quaint Baltimore Seafood Business Masks Shocking Labor Abuses (In These Times, 2017) · search the archive · Lampung crab plant; union says work moved to rural mini-plants; casual workers for 10+ years; plants in US, EC, MX, ID, IN, PH, TH, VN; Phillips did not respond
Published by Phillips or its owner
- Overseas exploration (Phillips Foods) · search the archive · Phillips owns and manages its own crab, seafood and fish processing plants throughout South East Asia, plus a plant in Hoopers Island, Maryland
Company details
- Headquarters
- United States
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Phillips ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/phillips-foods, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Harm on record means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Phillips.
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