TLC Annual Review 2007 Eng

8/9/2019 TLC Annual Review 2007 Eng

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Based on Map No. 4112 Rev.2,United Nations Department ofPeace-keeping Operations,Cartographic Section.January 2004

INDOCHINA PENINSULA


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www.thailabour.orgPhoto: Network against Trafcking and Exploitation of Migrant Workers NAT. Mayday demonstration 2007.


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Ed. The text below attempts to prcis some of the issues mentioned in the

introductory pages to the TLC AnnualReport 2005 and provide a link to TLCslast major attempt to sum-up.

During the twin coups of 1957 and1958 Field-Marshal Sarit ThanaratsRevolutionary Council took control ofthe governance of Thailand and began topush for rapid capitalist development.

The rst phase came as Import Substitution

Industrialisation (ISI) which aimed to

protect domestic industries, eliminateunder-employment in agriculture andgenerate employment and technological

progress. ISI was carried-out with

technical assistance and huge loans from

the World Bank.

In the 1980ies the World Bank made

an infamous U-turn, and began pushingExport Oriented Industrialisation. EOIwas thence to dominate Thailandseconomic development until ThaksinsThai Rak Thai Party came to power in2001.

The engine of EOI was seen as Foreign

Direct Investment (FDI). FDI is

dependent on investor condence, and

investor condence was considered by most major investors to be closelydependent on a states ability to keep thelabour market where the investor wantedit to be, namely down.

That capital could ow easily and theimport of raw materials and exportof manufactured goods could be as

protable as possible, EOI attempted to

offer corporations and investors a puddingof cheap labour with de-regulation ofinvestment and trade as the sauce.

Under the Free Trade Ageement (FTA)model, corporations are permittedmassive freedoms. In the highly

competitive race amongst corporationsto nd the cheapest labour, workers

around the world have been forced to become ever more exible, to adapt if

they can to ever greater insecurity, toless hope of permanent employment, tothe contractualisation, informalisation(out-sourcing) and casualisation of their

labour - to adapt to less protection andless (formal) bargaining power.

Certainly all this de-regulation didcontribute to the dramatic transformation

BACKGROUND NOTE

that Thailand experienced betweenthe mid-80ies and mid-90ies, but stateambitions are one thing and realityanother.

Furthermore, the technical innovations

of the World Trade Organisations neo-liberal propaganda machine, their under-writing of the Free Trade Agreementsthat most countries in the South havebeen and still are pressured into signing,are a direct cause of the exibilisation of

employment and the increasing insecuritynow felt by the working class of not justThailand but every country around theworld.

Globalisation of supply-chainmanagement has impacted and is

impacting dramatically on employmentconditions. As global competition drivesworking hours longer, harder and cheaper,the cost of welfare rises and the numberof companies and corporations willingto shoulder the cost of providing jobsecurity and social welfare decreases.

Following the Asian nancial crisis of

1997, the Labour Movement in Thailandfound itself facing great challenges - notonly exibilisation of the workforce,

but also the steady inux of migrant

workers, blind state adherence to IMF-style privatisation, and the many impactsof more than 10 FTAs.

Basic rights like the Right to Freedom ofAssociation and the Right to CollectiveBargaining are routinely suppressed inThailand - and in the region as a whole.In the state-sponsored thrust for greater

prot and investor condence, in the

face of intensely competitive local,regional and international pressures, theadministration of Thaksin Shinawatra pursued strategies designed to lowerwage and production costs, especiallythrough the (forced) adoption of (and

experimentation with) exible forms ofemployment.

All of this is a great challenge to theLabour Movement - to hold together,to maintain existing unions and to forgenew unions and new forms of cross-sectoral Solidarity.

The Thai workforce is presently split intoseveral categories. Workers in the privateand public sectors are not allowed toform confederations with one another. In

the private sector there is a dual labour

market comprised of regular workersand short-term workers usually on xedcontracts negotiated by labour agencies.

Furthermore, there is a growing numberof migrant workers in Thailand who are

easily controlled by employers, and areperhaps, to the capitalist, the ideal formof exible labour.

It is very important that workers

understand that this neo-liberal formof globalization is being pressed homeby corporations that adhere to rules forworld-trade that are led by the WorldTrade Organisation and implementedthrough a number of thoroughly non-democratic instruments like the so-calledFree Trade Agreements (FTAs).

It is very important that workers in

Thailand, and everywhere, understandthat thousands of organisations and peoples movements around the worldhave been and are demonstrating againstthe de-humanising impacts of the neo-liberal trade model. And it is equallyimportant that workers in Thailand, andeverywhere, realise that the governmentsof nearly every country in Asia are movingfull-steam ahead with the liberalisationof trade and investment without respect

or notice for the warnings and cries of theworkers of the world.

This form of liberalization is nothing lessthan a double-standard. It ensures optimal

freedom for investors and corporationsthrough maximum avoidance of localand international standards of humanrights, participatory democratic rights,environmental rights and labour rights.This double-standard policy onlyincreases the chance of people fromvulnerable groups being exploited andoppressed: workers, women, indigenouspeoples, migrants and poor people.

Campaigning for the promotion andimplementation of basic human andlabour rights - for the Right to Freedomof Association and Collective Bargaining- is absolutely necessary if trade unionsand workers organisations are to engagedemocratically in our common strugglefor sustainable development.

Note:For Conclusion to the

TLC Annual Report 2005, see page 54.


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With reference to textile and clothing industries

the RE-LOCATION GAMEsustainable development or straight forward exploitation?

Starting from the United States of America and European Union,

a RACE to the BOTTOM,to where human rights and welfare are weakest and wages are lowest.

1960 1970

Expansion of mass-production to

newly industrialised countries (NICs):

Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore . .

1974 (-1995)

Implementation of WTOs Multi-bre Arrangement (MFA)

Re-location of mass-production from North to NICs and the South

1980ies

Promotion of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

and Export Promotion Zones (EPZs) in the South

1995

China enters the game

After China . .

return to 1980ies with

promotion of Special Economic Zones (SEZs)

facilitated by Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)

Mexico

CentralAmerica

Africa

Eastern EU

Where next?

NICs:

Taiwan

Hong Kong

Korea

South East Asia

South Asia

China

Trans-national corporations (TNCs) grow and remain alive by aiming to secure the shortest possible production times,

lowest possible production costs, least possible over-stock and fastest possible delivery with least possible risk.

The governments of the South / poor countries are pressured by TNCs to compete with each other in terms of who canprovide entrepreneurs with the most attractive incentive programmes so that TNCs can acquire fastest possible pro-duction time at lowest possible cost. As the governments of the South submit to TNC pressure their legitimate powerto direct their economies is usurped by TNCs.


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Background Note from 2005 4

FOREWORD 9

Junya Yimprasert, TLC Chief Co-ordinator8-Year achievement, Initiatives, Strategy, Triangular Solidarity

1.0 The Labour Movement in Thailand 12

1.1 Political Reform 131.2 Minimum wage 131.3 Living wage 131.4 Social security 131.5 Gender and Trade 13

2.0 Campaign for the Right to Freedom of Association 15

2.1 Labour Rights Caravan 162.1.1 Caravan activity 2007 162.1.2 Observations and remarks on the 2007 Caravan 172.1.3 Towards a Centre for Labour Rights 172.1.4 Constraints 17

2.2 Campaign for the Ratication of ILO Conventions 87 and 98 17

2.2.1 Raising awareness for ratication 182.2.2 First National Conference 18

2.2.3 Action Plan 2008 - 2011 18

3.0 Campaign for the Rights of Migrant Workers 20

3.1 Migrant workers in Thailand 213.1.1 TLC advocacy for migrant worker rights 213.1.2 TLSC demands to the Government 213.1.3 TLSC proposals to the Government 23

3.2 Burmese migrant workers in Thailand 25

3.2.1 Report from the Mae Sot area 26

3.2.2 TLC meetings, workshops & seminars for migrant workers 273.2.3 A typical case from Mae Sot, May 2007 28

3.3 Thai Migrant workers 29

3.3.1 Support for Thai migrant workers in Israel. 293.3.2 Thai and migrant workers unite 29

3.5 Network against Exploitation & Trafcking of Migrant Workers (NAT) 31

4.0 International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women 32

4.1 Bangkok 324.2 Mae Sot 32

CONTENTS Page


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5.0 Gender and Trade 33

5.1 Gender and Trade Literacy Workshops 335.2 Lessons learnt 335.3 Gender and Trade Literacy Hand-book 33

6.0 Thai Woman Forum 35

6.1 Building the Forum 356.2 Problems encountered 366.3 Results of the Forum 366.4 Continuation from Woman Forum to Gender Forum 36

7.0 FTAs and SEZs 39

7.1 Policy-making in Thailand 397.1.1 Free Trade Agreements 397.1.2 Special Economic Zones 39

7.2 TLC Research 40

8.0 Global Solidarity 42

8.1 World Social Forum and other meetings 428.2 Other meetings 428.3 TNCs and violation of rights 43

9.0 Labour Rights media 44

9.1 Workers Voice Radio FM 98.25 449.2 TLC Website 449.3 Labour Focus 449.4 Documentaries 44

10.0 SHORT HISTORY of ILO (Continued on page 55) 46

ADMINISTRATION 47

SUMMARY 49

Acknowledgements 51

Note from the Editor 52

Conclusion from 2005 54

Appendices (not included but available upon request to TLC):1. Statement of Accounts2. Table of Activities in 20073. TLC Work Plan 2008

Page


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Thailand was a Kingdom with full judicial independence until the reign of King Rama IV of Chakkri Dynasty

(1804 - 1868). During his reign, the King conceded to the regime of Extraterritorial Judiciary of foreigners through

the signing of Bowring Treaty within which judicial independence was partly forsaken. Treaties of this nature werecreated not only with Great Britain but also with other foreign powers during the late Nineteenth Century.

The study of the new, criminal law theory for the draft royal decree on the offences against body and life R.S. 118.,Chunchay Rochanasaroj, Chulalongkorn University, 2000.

FOREWORDJunya Yimprasert, TLC Chief Co-ordinator

After the Bowring Treaty of 1855, as with the signing of FTAs today (See

page 39), Thailand was unconditionally obliged to sign similar treaties

with a gang of other countries. In 1855 it was the US, France, Denmark,

Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Italy, Austria-

Hungary, Spain, Japan and Russia. Full-scale industrialisation of Thailandreally only began in the 1960ies, in 1961, with the First National Economic

Development Plan. Before this Thailand was still an almost entirely ruraleconomy. Export promotion came in with the fourth 5-year plan in 1977.Today we are in plan No. 10.

In 1961 forest cover in Thailand was still 53%. When logging concessions

for teak and other hard woods were nally stopped in 1989, Thailands forest

cover had been reduced to a mere 28%, leaving huge areas open to new

forms of exploitation, to alien forms of agriculture and to the building of roads and dams. By this time the GreenRevolution in Thailand was well underway, and industrial zones were growing and gaining momentum, especiallyaround Bangkok. In 1960 the population of Thailand was 26 million, by 1980 it had nearly doubled.

The impact of logging, and of the Green Revolution and the industrialisation that followed, is characterised by thearrival of a previously unknown level of struggle and competition for local resources and the means of production,

by the arrival of water-shortages, drought and the devastation of the lives of millions of previously self-sufcient

Thai farmers.

Most small farmers swallowed the nancial propaganda of the Green Revolution and turned away from self-

sufciency to the so-called cash-crops promoted by the Government. Since then, small farmer incomes have never

been enough for the basic needs of the whole family. Millions of daughters and sons found themselves having toaccept work in sweatshops, and falling prey to the labour trafcking agencies and cartels that serve the worlds

cheap labour markets. Malaysia became the largest host country for Thai labourers, with mainly illegal workerscrossing the southern border, and since the mid-90ies Taiwan has remained the largest legal destination, withIsrael and Korea coming in second and third. Thailand itself is now the recipient of large numbers of mainly illegal

Burmese migrant workers who can be (conveniently) employed for less than half the legal minimum wage.

In tandem with the growth of corporate power and the greed of the Thai elite, new industrial estates are rising under

the new Extraterritorial Judiciary manifest in the form of not logging concessions but the Special Economic Zones

that are now springing up all over Thailand. All of this can be traced to the Bowring Treaty.

When we look for sustainable development and at the roots and causes of Thailands weak democracy and culturaldilemma, when we look at Thailands pain in fact, we see that we are facing large issues, and deduce that we mustfocus on Solidarity - on helping workers and small farmers to comprehend the whole picture.

The Thai Labour Campaign (TLC) was formed in February 2000 to help

workers and small farmers to stand-up for their rights and to focus on buildingtriangular solidarity between national, regional and global labour and humanrights campaigns and organizations, especially trade unions.


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TLC works to strengthen

TRIANGULAR SOLIDARITY

GLOBAL

LOCAL

REGIONAL

Government

Workers

EmployersCollective

bargaining

Sustainable

livelihood

Social

welfare

socio-cultural

socio-ecologic socio-economic

Key issues

Workers rights + legal code

Autocratic government

Flexibilisation of employment

FTAs and SEZs

FREEDOM of ASSOCIATION

TLCs work has FOUR DIMENSIONS

SOLIDARITY

ACTION in company with partners,

alliances and networks to strengthen

struggle for human rights, policy

change and quality of life.

NETWORKING

Linking and building networks and alli-

ances with and between local, regional

and global organisations, womens net-

works and peoples movements.

Rights-based approach

SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS

RELEASE and REHABILITATION

Building and promoting sustainable

life-styles and living patterns,

supporting workers co-operatives and

new forms of organic economy.

INFORMATION, ANALYSIS &

TRAINING

Field research, participatory workshops,

educational materials, hand-books,

documentaries, radio programmes and

radio spots, posters, T-shirts, stickers,website . .


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Stop Privatisation march 2207: President of SERC with workers of the Express Transport of Thailand Union workers.Photo: Suthasinee Kaewleklai.

With respect to the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO),

the Thai states tripartite structure represents only 1% of the national labour force.

POPULATION

65 MILLIONPEOPLE

Only 330 000 workers protected by Tripartite Policy


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The Labour Movement in Thailand

Most of the trade unions in Thailand are in-house unions and, with 11 national labour congresses and 16 labour

federations, nding a voice of unity within the Thai Labour Movement is not easy.

Labour organisations in Tailand

WorkersPublic enterprise associations 45 (168 500 individual members, 2005)Private enterprise labour unions 1 216 (1 360 339 individual members, 2005)Labour union federations 16Labour union councils / congresses 11

EmployersEmployers Associations 408Employers Association federations 2Employers councils 12

Source: Labour Relations Bureau, Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, 2007 (2005).

In comparison with the national labour force of 36 million, in Thailand (a country where Direct Foreign Investment

runs at around 40%) union membership is extremely low at 1.5%. In Indonesia and the Philippines the gure is

about 7%, in Malaysia about 9%, in Korea it rises to 11% and in Japan to 22%.

As is the case with many countries in the South, forward movement to proper establishment of Human and LabourRights in Thailand is impossible without the solidarity and support of the International Labour Movement (ILO).

The need to establish the tripartite approach to the management of labour relations (workers-government-employers)

was one of the main causes around which ILO was formed in 1919.

Thailand was a founding member of ILO and certainly the Government of Thailand as always been well aware of

the need for a proper tripartite approach.

The Tripartite Consultations Convention 144 was introduced by ILO in 1976, but has not been ratied by Thailand.

Today the Thai Ministry of Labour lays claim to 15 tripartite state bodies, including committees on wages, labourwelfare, labour relations, welfare funding, occupational health and safety, and labour development.

In practice however the tripartite structure that exists in Thailand has, so far, been of little benet to workers.

Accusations as to the cause of the lack of labour policy reforms focus on manipulation of tripartite election

procedures by the employer associations.

The eleven national labour congresses do not form a united body to bargain for the benet of workers. Most of their

time is given to waving ags on Government-sponsored May Day and competing for places on tripartite state

committees.

Call them what you may, these main-stream factors, along with a great bundle of ancillary factors (hostile

bureaucracy etc.), are a large part of the answer to why the Labour Movement in Thailand is so weak and why only

1.5% of the 36 million strong labour force is unionised.

In Thailand, labour rights violations are found in every corner of every business and the real struggle of the poor is

still being fought by grass-root activists and unionists.

The Thai Labour Solidarity Committee was formed in 2001 as a national coalition of 32 labour unions, federationsand NGOs - to bring Thailands labour laws into the 21st Century.


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Political reform

With regard to political reform in Thailand, the ThaiLabour Movement, working in solidarity with thePeoples Movement led by the Thai Labour SolidarityCommittee, has been calling for many amendments to the1997 Constitution e.g.

the Right of Freedom of Association and CollectiveBargaining without state intervention;the right of women to have the same possibilities asmen in all levels of government;abolition of the requirement that a member of theHouse of Representatives must have a bachelordegree;making it possible for workers to cast their votes intheir workplace during general elections.

These demands and appeals remain even more relevant to

the Constitution set-up by the military government afterthe 2007 Coup.

Minimum wage

In Thailand the minimum wage differs between provinces.

In 2007 there were 22 different wage levels ranging from

143 -194 Baht (3 - 4 Euro / day).

Regarding the standing demand for a nation-wideminimum wage standard, three years ago the Labour

Movement began calling for a minimum wage of 7,000Baht per month (140 Euro). To monitor follow-up to this

demand, in 2007 there were many seminars on minimumwage and discussions with the Ministry of Labour.

Living wage

With regard to the Principle of Living Wage, in 2007TLSC made a survey of basic living costs. Resultsshowed that, on average, basic living costs were around

288 Baht / day (


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Global

unions

ORGA

NICECONOMY

Struggle

forDemocracy

Freedom

ofAssociation

GENDE

REQUALITY

Womenas

Decision-Makers

BuildingGra

ss-RootAlliances

Rights-basedStrategy

CO-OP

ERATION

LOCALGLOBAL

2008

2001

Regional

networks

Regionalforums

Gender&TradeWorkshops

Deve

lopingeducational

m

aterials,tools,

com

munitywebsites

andradio

Formingunionsandassociations

Workingwithtradeunions

Campaigningagainst

labourrightsviolations

People:women,men,LGBT,

youthandchildren

Ruralwom

enactivists

Migrant

workers

NGO

alliances

Peoplesmovements

Stateenterpriseunionists

Privatesectorunionists

Global

campaigners

Local

netwo

rks

2001

2008

SUSTAI

NABLE

DEVE

LOPMENT


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Campaign for the Right to Freedom of Association

There is no single reason why there is so little organised labour in Thailand. The Thai Labour Movement faces anamalgam of socio-cultural and socio-political reasons. The nature of the Thai, as is the nature of most peoples thatfollow the way of Buddha, is to avoid conict and, thereby, also decisive confrontation this way or that. Relative to this,the European peoples tend to respect hard-driving for decisive confrontation. These broad socio-cultural differences,which are not easy to judge, tend to mean that, in the highly rationalised, competitive, western-driven ambience of the

prevalent neo-liberal philosophy, the people at the bottom, with workers in S-E Asia no exception, are often poorlyadjusted and ill-equipped for the ght for the protection of their rights, and need various forms of assistance.

TLCs task is to keep on exploring ways to assist workers increase their collective bargaining power, not just with theiremployers but also with respect to the legal code. TLCs primary focus is consequently on the basic pre-requisite ofraising public consciousness of the principle of and the right of Freedom of Association.

The question why is collective bargaining within Thai labour so weak can be asked, but it is more pertinent to re-

structure the question and ask . . Why with such a small organised labour force has Thailands Labour Relation Actremained more-or-less unchanged for more than 30 years? Why do successive Thai Governments show no interest inratifying internationally agreed conventions on such basic matters as the Right to Freedom of Association? What arethe real reasons why successive governments feel at liberty to ignore labour rights?

With clear understanding that sustainable development cannot be achieved without grass-root solidarity and aprogressive Labour Movement, TLC has, from foundation, worked closely with the Thai Labour Movement for grass-root mobilization in general.

Within TLC, Suthasinee Kaewleklai and Saneh Hongthong, TLCs National Campaign Co-ordinators, carry mostresponsibility for TLCs direct co-operation with the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee (TLSC), the Women Workers

for Unity Group (WWUG) and (Thailands) NGO Co-ordinating Committee on Development (NGO-COD). BothCo-ordinators participate regularly in the monthly meetings of both TLSC and WWUG, often with other members ofthe TLC staff.

Wilaiwan Sae-tai, Sawit Kaew-whan and otherLSC leaders submit a letter to a Government

representative demanding equal rights for Taiand Migrant Workers, outside Government House,

International Migrant Workers and Family Day,18.12.2007.

Photo: Suthasinee Kaewleklai

2.0

With Thailand following royally the neo-liberal approach to development, all effort and emphasis must be given to

strengthening grass-root activity, to developing infra-structure and mechanisms for building grass-root solidarity and

collective bargaining power.


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Labour Rights Caravan

When the large manufacturing industries began relocating

to the outskirts of Bangkok and to new industrial zones in

far-off provinces in the mid-90ies, Thai labour education

did not seem able to respond. In 2000 TLC had no

resources for seminars in Bangkok hotels. The need at the

start of the 21st century was for relevant forms of labour

education in the new industrial zones.

TLC began to reach-out to organised and non-organised

labour making use of all possible educational means

to raise awareness of labour rights, health and safety

standards and democracy in general. By 2004 these

activities were becoming recognisable as a new model for

labour education in Thailand in the form of a Labour

Rights (Education) Caravan.

TLC has been developing the Labour Rights Caravan in

cooperation with volunteers from TLSC, SERC, WWUGand many other labour organisations. Every year has

been witness to an increasing number of volunteers

and, in 2007, the Caravan showed signs of being able to

function as an autonomous, independent project with a

collective, gender-sensitive management drawn from the

more progressive elements of the Labour Movement.

Caravan activity 2007

10th February 2007, Bangchun Housing Estate,

Minburi District, Bangkok.Over 150 people participated including members of theAlmond Labour Union, people from the local communityand allied workers from Saraburi province, the RungsitIndustrial Area and several state enterprise trade unions.

Main aspects

The Caravan Team worked with the local community toorganize the event. The event led to community leadersoffering a place for building a childcare centre; andthe WWUG has been coordinating with the Bangchun

Community ever since, assisting with e.g. links to theMoL for the purpose of developing the childcare facility.

With many migrant workers living and working in thearea and people in the community tending to view migrantworkers as a threat to their jobs etc., the Caravan was ableto assist people with understanding that the problem isnot migrant labour in itself, but a broader issue withinThai society in general, of the need for national law thatgives migrant workers equal protection to Thai workers.

31st March 2007, in front of the Governors Ofce,

Samutprakarn Province.

This was a joint-forum that focused mainly on politicalreform. There were over 200 participants from theSamutprakarns industrial area which is home to the large

Thailand Electrical Appliance Workers Federation andthe Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation ofThailand (TGLWF).

Main aspects

With trade unions well-established in Samutprakarn

Province the Governor accepted an invitation to theOpening of the Caravan. The Caravan provided a platformfor participants to ask questions on the Constitution beingdrafted by the Legislative Council. People expressed theirdislike of the drafting of yet another Constitution underyet another military Government. (Note: Thailand has

had something like 35 Constitutions since 1932.)

The Caravan Team recorded issues of concern raised byparticipants - for TLSC to take forward to the ConstitutionDrafting Council. The Team itself raised issues regarding

the right to vote in the workplace during a general election,the right of workers to be active participants in determiningsocial security priorities and policies, the clearly urgentneed for the Thai Government to ratify ILO 87 and

98, and the need to abolish the elitist requirement that abachelor degree is necessary to stand for membership ofthe House of Representatives, and for the State Senate,and for the Bangkok Metropolitan Council etc.

7th April 2007, Saraburi Industrial Area

Although the Caravan faced problems with heavy rain,

about 500 people came to collect literature and leaetsand, despite the rain, there was a half-day meeting withabout 60 trade unionists to discuss local labour problemsand proposals for political reform.

Main aspects

With two visits to the Saraburi Community in 2007, theCaravan established good contact and cooperation withlocal people. The Caravan took note of the struggle ofthe Saraburi Community against the 1500 MW KaengKhoi combined-cycle gas generating plant (Gulf Electric

/ Pyry Energy). Youth from the group against the power

plant were eager to participate in the Caravans secondvisit. Also, community leaders from Saraburi broughttheir story of the powerlessness of villagers facing mega-

projects to the May Day Rally outside GovernmentHouse in Bangkok. In this way the Saraburi Caravan

demonstrated how a coming together of union interestswith those of communities attempting to protect localcommunity rights can be helpful to both.

1st September 2007, Rangsit Industrial Area

Over 300 people showed interest in the Caravan. The

two hundred ready-prepared set of documents werenot enough. Workers and TLC staff distributed posterssponsored by the Paisarn Tawatchainan Foundation in

public areas, on phone booths, electricity poles etc.

2.1

1.1


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Main aspects

The Caravan was able to welcome both unionized andnon-unionized workers from the Rangsit and NavanakornIndustrial Zones. Quiz time on Labour Rights was

especially popular. Correct answers were rewarded witha small gift.

Observations and remarks on the 2007

Caravan

The Caravan was able to . .give strength to the groups that focus on political reform;

raise and take forward migrant worker issues;shed light on common issues facing communities inrural areas and new industrial zones;raise awareness of how labour rights and politicalrights are linked, and distribute (MoL) information

on social security schemes.

Local ofcials and politicians showed more interest than previously, especially in areas where trade unions areactive.

The Caravan received more donations than previously -in terms of food, voluntary work contributions, space formeetings and printing of information, and seems now to befunctioning quite well with a re-structured Caravan Teamconsisting of Director, Secretariat, Treasurer and WorkingCommittee. Also to be noted, the Caravan reached more

people when staged in the centre of a community.

Towards a Centre for Labour Rights

One of the most signicant achievements of the 2007

Caravan came from the planning meeting of the CaravanWorking Team on December 7, 2006, when it wasdecided that, after 3 years of Caravan activity, a Centre forLabour Rights should be established to take on the task ofcoordinating and developing the aims of the Caravan. TheRailway Workers Union kindly agreed to host the Centre.The Centre is chaired by Sawit Kaew-wan from TLSC,

and the Working Committee is drawn from the followingorganisations:

Thai Labour CampaignThai Labour Solidarity Committee [TLSC]Labour Coordinating CenterState Enterprises Workers Relations ConfederationWomen Workers for Unity GroupCentre for AIDS Rights

Paisarn Thaawatchaiyanan FoundationCouncil for Work and Environment-Related Patients

Network of ThailandAmnesty International, Thailand Ofce

TLC initiated the Labour Rights Education Caravan

(LRC) programme in 2004 and is proud of progress to

date. With the birth of the new Centre and with manylabour organizations, unions and federations now

participating and taking-over the running of Caravanactivities, the process can be regarded as on-going. Thisis a real step to greater solidarity within the LabourMovement in Thailand, a step made through takinglabour education programmes to the people, hopefully,

eventually, throughout Thailand.

Constraints

LRC organization is, never-the-less, still in a formativephase and needs to be strengthened. The organization ofeld activities needs special attention. The LRC needs

to give attention to how to improve the grass-root ow

of information within the communities the Caravan isrequested to visit, in other words to how to maximize the

participation of both union and non-union members in the

industrial zones.

Caravan eld-work often involves lifting and moving

heavy stage equipment and requires the voluntaryparticipation of young activists to function as stage-handsetc. The LRC is also in clear need of its own vehicle(s) for

transporting people and equipment, to be able to reach outto remote villages - as a mobile display for educationalmaterials, as a mini-cinema etc.

LRC printed materials are out-of-stock and, for themoment, the LRC has no resources to print more. The

budget to date has never been sufcient to cover the

costs of the activities planned. At present the Caravanis being kept alive nancially by TLC and by voluntary

contributions of 100 baht / month from the most dedicatedLRC activists. TLC hopes that the Caravan will becomeself-nancing as soon as possible.

Campaign for ratication of ILO

Conventions 87 and 98

For many years - for almost two decades - one of theLabour Movements May Day Demands has been forthe Thai Government to ratify ILO Conventions 87 and

98.

Thailand was one of the founding members of ILO in

1919, but has ratied only 14 of ILOs 188 conventions.

For 30 years, between 1969 - 1999 Thailand did not ratifya single ILO convention despite the fact that Thailand

was being rapidly transformed from an agriculturalto an industrial-led economy with huge migration of

rural people to the cities. These people, searching fornew livelihoods under unfamiliar circumstances andconditions, needed protection - with respect to theirliving conditions, circumstances of employment, their

2.1.2

2.1.3

2.1.4

2.2


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environment and health. For decade after decade Thaigovernments have consistently ignored fully legitimatedemands to ratify ILO conventions, which are formulated

to assist governments improve labour rights protectionand amend national law to comply with internationalstandards. This political lassitude and the fact that only1.5% of the 36 million Thai labour force is unionised are

inseparable phenomena.

Since 1999 the Thai Government has ratied 3 ILO

conventions. In 1999 it ratied the Equal Remuneration

Convention No.100. In 2001 it ratied the Worst Forms

of Child Labour Convention No. 182, and in 2004 theMinimum Age for Admission to Employment Convention

No. 138.

Ratication of the ILO Convention 87 will . .

give workers and employers the right to enjoyforming unions without need to ask the permissionof the State;

prevent aggressive intervention by governmentofcials when the Right to Freedom of Association

is being exercised;permit any trade union or association to join freelytogether with any other organization, national orinternational.

Ratication of the ILO Convention 98 will . .

protect workers from all discriminatory actions (by

employers / State) because of being, or attempting toform themselves into, unions or associations;

prevent employers from attempting to control theactivities of workers associations;

protect employees and employers from aggressiveintervention in each others establishments,administrations and praxes;

promote open negotiation between workersassociations and employers associations.

Raising awareness for ratication

Since foundation in 2000, TLC has worked ceaselesslyto raise awareness of the importance of International

Labour Standards, especially of the ILO Conventions.

Ratication of ILO 87 and 98 is also one of TLSCs

MayDay Demands. As a member of TLSC it has beenTLCs delegated task to campaign for ratication.

In order to be able to illustrate for the Thai Labour

Movement, general public and Government howmuch workers and union leaders suffer from the union

busting practices that are a product of Thailands weaklabour protection laws, TLC has been documenting andcollecting data on labour violations and union busting,and has, during the last 6 years, documented more than 50

cases, in which TLC has provided either direct or indirectassistance to workers.

TLC found it intolerable that almost every case thatwent to court ended in favour of the employer. SinceOctober 2006 TLC has been supporting the defenceof the leadership of three unions: Centaco ProcessingWorkers Union [8 cases], the Mikasa Workers Union

[4 cases] and the Almond Workers Union [2 cases]. Bybuilding-up a legal team that understands Human Rights,Workers Rights and Women Rights frameworks, TLC isnow ensuring a fair result in all court cases in which it

becomes engaged.

TLC has succeeded in bringing the issue of ratication of

the ILO Conventions to all relevant levels of Thai society,

also to the ASEAN community, and also made ILO fully

aware of the situation in Thailand.

First National Conference

On 5th May 2007 TLC organized a roundtable at the ThaiLabour Museum with 30 participants from the trade unionleadership.

On 25th August 2007 TLC and TLSC organized the FirstNational Conference on ILO Conventions 87 & 98 at

the Bangkok Palace Hotel. Over 170 representatives fromboth private and state enterprise trade unions participated,representing some 60% of organised labour in Thailand.

On 30th August 2007, the consensus of the First National Conference was submitted by TLSC to theThai Government, copy to ILO, expressing especially

the imperative need to ratify ILO 87 and 98. The main

features of the Action Plan agreed at the Conference areoutlined below.

Action Plan 2008 2011

Organisation within unions

The Action Plan emphasises education for unionmembers who still lack information and understandingabout ILO by e.g. organising seminars for union members

about Thai labour laws that contradict ILO 87 and 98,

ensuring improved dissemination of printed informationon Labour Rights within the unions, and ensuring thate.g. community radio and newspapers cover labour rightsviolations, and that public relations notice boards are keptup-to-date and, furthermore, by organising campaigns inwhich trade unions and communities can enjoy to worktogether with and alongside local and national partnersand alliances outside the Thai Labour Movement.

Raising awareness in the industrial zones

Labour rights activists need to be abreast of developmentsand able to share information. With respect to the Industrial

2.1

2.2.2

2.2.3


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Zones the Action Plan emphasized dissemination of

information, also the need for union groups from the

industrial zones to do their best to develop, within theirzones, educational programmes on trade unionism, in

particular because labour activists, educationalists andfacilitators must know how to collect data methodically -so that policy-makers are correctly informed and can usethe data received to make effective decisions.

Furthermore, the Action Plan for the Industrial Zones

emphasized the need for . .developing the quality of printed materials and media(leaets, bulletins, videos, CDs, community radio,

TV);ensuring the Ministry of Labour contributes tothe costs of developing the required educationalmaterials;campaigning for awareness of the importance ofthe ILO Conventions and the need for adherence to

global standards;raising local and national support for the work of theLabour Rights Caravan;organising meetings and seminars for the purposeof sharing experiences with an as wide as possiblerange of organisations - local, regional, national,international and global.

At national level the Action Plan includes . .

ensuring grass-root trade union activity experience

acquired on the local, regional and national stages istranslated into educational material that is integrated

into the formal educational curriculum of primaryschools;

providing education, for all trade unionists ofwhatever status, that covers all labour issues(including contract labour, out-sourcing etc.), that

promotes active discussion on ILO C.87 and C.98,

and that stimulates . .work for the development of human and labour rightscurricula in universities;development of the quality of Labour Rights media(leaets, bulletins, newspapers, magazines, websites,

TV programmes, community radio, music, theatre);campaigning for Labour Rights by organising nationalaction days, nation-wide demonstrations etc.

Regarding the International Campaign for Ratication

ensuring that Workers Radio programmes press forratication;

ensuring the international community is informed onmajor violations of trade union rights in Thailand;ensuring that documentation of trade union violationsin Thailand are publicised in as many languages as

possible;organising seminars and conferences between Thaitrade unions and international / global organisationslike the IMF, ITGLWF, Good Electronics etc.

Stop Privatisation: Suthasinee Kaewleklai and

Sathachon Kaew-whan marching with workers of

the Express Transport of Thailand Union

Photo: Saneh Hongthong


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Campaign for the Rights of Migrant Workers

With support from Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), three years ago TLC initiated a Campaign forthe Rights of Migrant Workers especially for the Burmese who have ed the military regime and

have no legal status in Thailand. Through this work TLC has come to a better understanding of themany strengths and vulnerabilities of migrant workers.

Since the beginning of this Campaign, TLC has . .

provided direct support in urgent cases of violation of worker rights, employing one full-timestaff, Saner Boonthong, in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma border;

worked to raise public awareness of the extremely vulnerable predicament of Burmese andother migrant workers in Thailand, and the dangers both migrant and Thai workers face of

being caught-up in the labour trafcking business;

raised-up the issues of migrant workers within the unions and begun the process of mobilizingunion support for migrant workers;

participated with all the many other human rights and labour organizations in solidarity actionsfor democracy in Burma.

The campaign is now an integrated part of TLCs broad strategy to gain the support of Thai unionsand members of the public in raising understanding of the need to establish the Right of Freedomof Association in Thai society.

3.0

Seminar for Burmese labour activists,

Mae Sot, 2007


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Migrant workers in Thailand

On United Nations International Migrant Workers

Day, 18th December 2007, ILO launched a report by

Dr Philip L. Martin stating that the 1.8 million migrantworkers in Thailand are contributing 2 billion dollars /annum to Thailands GDP. (http://www.iom.int/jahia/

Jahia/eventAS/cache/offonce?entryId=16240 and www.

prachatai.org [19/12/2007])

From this it is reasonable to conclude that migrant workersin Thailand are not a burden to the Thai economy or athreat to national security, as the Government is prone toclaim. On the contrary, migrant workers are contributingsignicantly to the health of the Thai economy.

Violations of migrant workers rights caused by

Thailands state security policies cause a lot of concernand indignation all around the world.

TLC advocacy for migrant worker rights

TLC has opened up the issue of migrant workersrights to a wide network that includes, besides the ThaiLabour Movement, Thai trade unions and governmentdepartments, also the Assembly of the Poor and all kindsof peoples movements and protest groups, as well asindividual members of the legal and other professions.

TLC will continue to explore and investigate new

pathways and possibilities to strengthen the bargainingposition of migrant workers in Thailand. In January 2008

TLC took on a new member of staff, Jaruwat Kayuenwan,to increase TLCs capacity to work with migrant workerissues.

At present TLC has 4 main approaches to solving migrantworker issues:

1. Exploration of potential ways and means to changeThai migrant labour legislation so that it gives (i) full

cover to the right of migrant workers to freely join andform unions, (ii) equal rights with Thai workers, and (iii) protects migrant workers from all forms of racism anddiscrimination.

2. Collaborating with Thai unions on the matter of openingunion membership to migrant workers in their workplaceand / or in the same industrial sector.

3. Supporting the formation of migrant workersassociations or unions that wish to work in cooperationwith the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee and BurmeseLabour Solidarity Organization (BLSO) and with other

migrant worker organizations e.g. in Mae Sot, ChiangMai, Samutsakorn and Bangkok.

4. Developing media channels aimed at raising publicawareness of migrant worker issues in Thai society.

After continuous work in cooperation with TLSC topromote the Right of Freedom of Association for migrantworkers in Thailand, TLSC has now an experiencedteam handling migrant worker issues comprising SanerBoonthong (TLC), Adisorn Kerdmongkol (Thai Action

Committee for Democracy in Burma), Satian Tunprom(Centre for Aids Rights) and Sawit Kaew-wan (TLSC).

The issue of migrant worker rights is being constantlybrought to the attention of the Ministry of Labour, andthere is progress in the sense that migrant worker issuesare now regularly taken-up by the Thai Labour Movementand the Thai media.

Working with the Thai Labour Movement, in 2007TLSC compiled data on migrant labour problems for

presentation (30.08.2007) to the Ministry of Labour,

the Prime Ministers Ofce, ILO and the UN Ofce in

Bangkok.

TLSC demands to the Government

On 29th April 2007 the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee(TLSC), in collaboration with Asian Network for

Migrants (ANM), protested against provincial decrees

(See below) to control the mobility of migrant workers -

even their freedom to gather for purely social reasons.

This process of provincial decree-making was set inmotion by the Governor of Samutsakorn Province and,

predictably, all other provinces were quick to followsuite.

Obviously these decrees reect what Government

thinks national security means. The decrees are directedspecically at Burmese, Laotian and Cambodian

migrants.

The decrees are not based on real data and violate the

international human and labour rights conventions thatThailand has already ratied.

The decrees function to isolate migrant labour from Thaisociety and from their own families and communities.They impact strongly on migrant workers living andworking conditions, especially on those who have towork at night. They make migrant workers less able to

protect their rights and more subject to forced-labour.They prevent migrant workers from accessing health-careservices and disease control systems and from living in a

manner that promotes good health. And they deny accessto basic education.

3.1.1

3.1

3.1.2


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The control of the migrant labour

To Samut Sakorn Labour Attach / all owners of manufacturing

The fact that, at present, there are many migrant workers from Burma, Laosand Cambodian working in manufacturing in Samut Sakorn Province, bothlegal and illegal entries, is causing problems.

The impact from employment of migrant workers specically on their

settlement communities, especially of Burmese ethnics, that stay together in abig group, is causing problems related to the healthcare of their followers andchildren, and crime and disobedience to the law. Furthermore, at the presenttime, there have been events that promote migrant workers culture, which isinappropriate and should not be supported because it will create the feelingof taking ownership over the communities and that can cause the securityproblem and this is not in line with the objective of the Thai Government,which is giving some exibility for the employment of migrant workers only

on a temporary basis.

Therefore, all the manufacturers and factories are requested to control andtake care of the migrant workers in your responsibilities and strictly followthe rules of the laws. If any one breaks the laws they will be arrested with

the highest possible penalty. And strictly no support for any event that ispromoting cultural and traditional ceremonies of the migrant on any occasion.

Mr. Weerayuth Eim-ampha

Govenor of Samut Sakorn Province

Govermors Ofce

Security Working GroupTel / Fax: 034427-531

Rough translation

26 October 2007

22

The decrees aim at reducing possibilities for migrantsto cooperate with employers and open-up ever greater

possibilities for local ofcials, who are more often than

not corrupt, to exploit to their own benet the increased

vulnerability of migrant workers. The decrees aim tobolster negative attitudes to migrant workers and ensurethat migrant people are unable to uphold their own culturaltraditions.

This type of national security policy hits defencelesspeople well below the belt and serves to ridicule whateverrespect there may remain for Thailand in the International

Community.

TLSC and ANM have presented a set of demands tothe Thai Government and relevant authorities that aresummarized as follows:

1. The Thai Government must repeal all provincialdecrees that violate the rights of, or discriminate against,migrant workers, and must move to legal enforcementof labour rights, including the formulation of guidelinesthat facilitate migrant workers in the exercising of theirrights.

2. The Thai Government must take steps to promoterecognition of the fact that migrant workers contributeconsiderably to the Thai economy and deserve the samerights as Thai workers.

3. The Thai Government must work actively to eradicateall forms of racism, including discrimination againstwomen, especially migrant women.

4. The Thai Government must work to restructure the waysin which the 2 million migrant labour force in Thailandis managed, at every level, and to ensure that the voice ofmigrant workers is included in Thai Government policy

proposals, giving special attention to the work and functionof the States own Migrant Worker Administration.

5. The Thai Government must formulate a progressiveand comprehensive policy on migrant worker issues thatis realistic and takes into good account every dimensionof migrant labour issues in Thailand with a fully humaneand responsible focus on respect and protection of humanrights, as is the duty of any modern state.


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TLSC proposals to the Government

On International Migrants Day the Thai Labour

Solidarity Committee, in collaboration with the variouslabour organisations and NGOs working on migrantlabour issues, drafted a set of policy proposals that wasaddressed to the Thai Government, to the United Nations

and to ILO.

In brief, TLSC stated that Thailand is facing a labour

migration situation generated by Thailand being both alabour hosting and a labour sending country. As mentionedabove, most migrants arriving in Thailand end up inunskilled and low-paid employ, without legal protectionor any access to legal aid, social services, education orhealthcare. The TLSC proposals aim at protecting migrantworkers and their families as human beings.

The Thai Government shall . .

1. set-up a sub-committee to protect the rights of migrantworkers that shall be chaired by a person appointed bythe Labour Rights Protection and Welfare Department,and the committee shall work together with all relevantauthorities, peoples organizations, labour organizations,employers associations and academics, connected to andconcerned with migrant worker issues.

2. Assist with the provision of mechanisms that facilitate,for example, translators and volunteer workers that have

the necessary language and communication skills forraising awareness of labour rights and of Thai Law as itapplies to migrant workers.

3. Amend regulations to allow migrant workers that havebeen unfairly dismissed or abused to remain in Thailandto exercise their just rights with regard to compensationand/or unpaid wages.

4. Revise Government policy that contradicts the Rightto Freedom of Association and prevents migrant workersfrom forming trade unions.

5. Revise Ministerial Rule No.10 in the Labour ProtectionAct that excludes migrant workers on shing vessels

working outside Thai territorial waters for more than oneyear from protection under Thailands labour protectionlaws.

6. Withdraw the instruction on the occupational health andsafety of migrant workers issued by the Social SecurityOfce to every provincial governor (25.10.2001) that

advocates obstructing migrant worker access to accidentcompensation funds.

7. Establish an ofcially-approved hotline for migrant

workers in difculty, in cooperation with, and meeting

the real needs of, the migrant worker community.

8. Ratify the UN Convention on Migrant Labour andFamily Protection (1990), ILO Convention 97 on

Migration for Employment (1939), Convention 143 on

Migrations in Abusive Conditions and the Promotionof Equality of Opportunity and Treatment of MigrantWorkers (1975), ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of

Association and Protection of the Right to Organize, andILO Convention 98 on the Application of the Principles

of the Right to Organize and to Bargain Collectively.

3.1.3


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Thai-Burma border-crossing 2007, Photo: RTC

24


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Burmese migrant workers in Thailand

In view of the desperate situation of Burmese migrants in Mae Sot, in 2003 TLC was urged to campaign for the

rights of migrant workers, especially from Burma.

TLC decided it needed to establish an ofce in Mae Sot (Tak Province), the busiest border town between Thailand

and Burma. Since June 2004 TLC has worked continuously to build constructive working relations with manymigrant worker organisations in Mae Sot, and in other areas throughout Thailand where migrant workers have

become concentrated.

During the 5 years that TLC has worked in Mae Sot the half-hidden factories around the township have not changedtheir inhuman operations. Many of the factories have hundreds and in some cases thousands of migrant workers

packed-in together behind high concrete walls topped with barbed-wire. Movement of the migrant worker inmatesis highly restricted and heavily controlled, and most of these factories are still no better than (or worse than)

concentration camps. In their guilt these factories often do not display any name.

While the number of migrant workers in Thailand just keeps on increasing - from one to two million in less thana decade, the Government of Thailand continues to do next to nothing for their rights as human beings. Of the2 million plus migrants now labouring in Thailand about 70% are from Burma, with Cambodians and Laotians

making-up the largest parts of the remaining number. These people are serving and servicing Thailand in all sectors -as labourers in the factories (especially in the garment and food industries), on large and small farms, as deck hands

on Thailands shing eets, in hotels and resorts, as domestics and in all kinds of shops.

Burmese Migrant workers in the harbour of Mahachai, a seafood processing town, December 2007

Photo: Suthasinee Kaewleklai.

3.2


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In the large manufacturing industries, thousands of migrants work alongside Thai workers, doing the same work and

producing the same product, but with enormous differences in wages and welfare.

Both the Thai and the Burmese migrant population are caught-up in the history of the distant past and, to a greatextent, live their lives in separation. Many Burmese, even after 20 years in Thailand, speak no Thai and most havelittle capacity to communicate with their Thai neighbours let alone with the Thai authorities, and, as a consequenceof all such factors together, both parties end-up making little effort to build the bridges that could benet their

common struggle to free themselves from exploitation by greedy and often cruel employers.

However horrible and intolerable the prison-like conditions of thousands of migrant workers in Mae Sot and otherparts of Thailand, however disgraceful these conditions are to the ne image of the Kingdom of Thailand, because

of the hegemonic character of Thai politics and the vulnerability of migrant workers it is extremely difcult for any

single NGO, or alliance of NGOs, to succeed in the struggle for the rights of migrant worker in Thailand.TLC alongside many other NGOs are doing what they can, but responsibility rests squarely with the Government ofThailand, which has all data, full knowledge of the situation and, without question, stands accused of a high degreeof complicity in this on-going affront against basic human rights.

On Thailands porous north-west frontier withBurma, there is no accurate gure for the number

of Burmese migrant workers in the Mae Sot area.Figures given range between 100 - 200 000. In Mae

Sot itself the population of ethnic Thai is about 35000. Mae Sot has around 300 factories (mainly

garment factories) with the largest employing 3000

or more migrant workers.

Despite the distance (450 km) from the Port of

Bangkok, Mae Sot is still attractive to the garment

and knitted-goods export industry simply becauseof opportunities to exploit the migrant labour thatarrives in Mae Sot from all over Burma.

Most Mae Sot factories operate as sub-contractorsto companies in Bangkok, which provide seasonalorders that test the Mae Sot factories beyond theircapacity. In attempting to meet these ambitious

demand orders, employers in the Mae Sot areadrive the migrant work force to produce undercompletely unreasonable and unstable conditions.

Much of the migrant work force is obliged to accept piece-work without any form of employmentcontract, thereby also without any assuranceof being paid the legal minimum wage. In the

high season, migrant workers, both those withand without work permits, are obliged (in fact

forced) to work inhumane hours for far less than

the minimum wage and with little or no paymentfor over-time. Payment for many hours of over-time often amounts to nothing more than a packetof instant noodles. When these factories face an

off season hundreds or thousands of migrantworkers have no other choice or possibility than toexperience long periods of deep poverty within thewalls of their factory compounds.

Report from the Mae Sot area 3.2.1

150 Baht ?


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Date Activity Comments

April Joint-meeting with 7 Burmese labour

organizations to prepare for May Day

activities.

The meeting agreed that the migrant worker issue is

sensitive and May Day discussions need to be held in

private space.

May Day 250 participants, mostly migrant workers,

met together in the main hall of the Rujira

Guest House Mae Sot.

Morning programme: a forum for leaders and workers

to express their view and opinions and discuss about

the labour situation and problems in Mae Sot.

Afternoon programme: cultural activities and enter-

tainment: labour quiz, dances and music with ethnic

groups from Burma.

11 May Meeting at BLSO Ofce, Mae Sot,

attended by 30 participants from 7

Burmese organizations and TLC.

Main theme: the need to join together as a network to

work with the Thai Labour Movement and gather data

on labour rights abuse, healthcare and education for

presenting to the Thai Labour Movement.

20 - 26 May Kevin Howison and Dennis Arnold [former

TLC staff] and 7 university students from

the USA study migrant worker issues in

Mae Sot.

The group met with 18 Burmese workers at the BLSO

Ofce, interviewed leaders of several Burmese

organizations and visited TK Garment, one of the

largest factories, employing over 3,000 migrantworkers.

1 - 4 June Arokia Dass, Junya Yimprasert and

Richard Thompson Coon visit Mae Sot for

a joint TLC-BLSO Workshop.

The workshop discussed lessons learned from trade

unionism in Malaysia, the impact of global supply

chains, and strategies for uniting different struggles for

migrant worker rights in Thailand.

12 June Meeting for Burmese workers organized

by Labour Protection and Welfare Ofce

in Mae Sot, Central Mae Sot Hill Hotel.

Training for 90 Burmese workers on Thai labour

protection laws.

7 July Asian Institute of Technology Seminar,

Mae Sot.

TLC participated in discussion on how to increase bar-

gaining power with global corporations.

18 - 19 Aug Gender and Trade Literacy workshop for

32 migrant workers and activists from 7organizations in Mae Sot

Junya Yimprasert (TLC) conducted the rst ever

Gender and Trade Literacy workshop for Mae Sotmigrant workers (women and men).

28 August TLC and BLSO organize a joint eld trip

to Mahachai, Samutsakorn Province.

Discussion with 15 migrant workers on the migrant

worker situation in Mahachai shing and processing

industries.

31 July -

2 August

S-E Asia Consultation on the Rights

of migrant workers, co-organised by

APWSL, Task Force for ASEAN Migrant

Workers, Forum Asia, Young Christian

Workers, Thai Labour Solidarity

Committee and the Thai Labour

Campaign. Asia Hotel, Bangkok.

The forum was attended by 100 labour activists mainly

from Thailand and Burma, with attendance of various

regional and international labour organizations e.g.

ILO, IOM, Asian Task Force on Migrant Workers and

UNI-Asia Pacic. TLC, one of the co-organisers, ar-

ranged for the conference bags through the Solidarity

Factory.

24 - 25 Nov Roundtables on Stop Violence against Women and Children, one in Mae Sot and one in Bangkok

(40 participants from 15 countries).

7 Dec A meeting of the Asian Migrant Network (ANM) in Bangkok passed a resolution to co-operate with

the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee to establish a Migrant Labour Center (MLC) in Bangkok to

campaign for the rights of migrant workers.

18 Dec International Migrant Workers Day. TLC participated in demonstrations in Bangkok and Chiang Mai

and with delivering demands for migrant workers rights to the Thai Government and the Chiang

Mai Governor.

Sept - Dec TLCs 30 minute lm on Life without Identity documenting factors inuencing migration of

Burmese and ethnic minorities reaches completion.TLC participates in protests against the violent crackdown in Burma.

TLC meetings, workshops & seminars for migrant workers. 3.2.2

Also, during 2007, TLC personnel contributed to six BLSO Workshops in Mae Sot on Labour Rights & the Law.


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A typical case from Mae Sot, May 2007

Factory X located on Song Kwae Road, producestextiles and fabric like laces, dyed clothes and lacedclothes. It employs about 300 Burmese migrant workers,

both documented and undocumented in approximatelyequal numbers.

Workers had become sick of labouring under terrible andabusive conditions. Around 50 had decided to quit, but theemployer, having taken possession of their work permitswould not return them.

These workers were receiving 70 - 80 Baht / day afterdeduction by the employer of 40 Baht / day for electricity,water, accommodation and work permit dues. (In

Thailand there is a special work permit for migrant peoplecosting 3 800 Baht, which, under the circumstances, theemployer often pays for, keeps possession of, and deducts

from wages.) The legal minimum wage in Mae Sot (asdetermined by the Thai Governments Central WageCommittee) is supposed to be 143 Baht / day. 70 - 80

Baht / day (1.4 1.6 Euro / day) is close to half the legal

minimum wage and can in no way be considered a livingwage.

Workers at Factory X were promised payment on the5th day of every month, but payment was frequently 1 - 2weeks and sometimes a month late.

The regular working day in the factory was supposedto be 08.00 - 17.00 hrs, but the employer often forcedworkers to 4 hours of overtime, which in practice meant aworking day of 08.00 - 22.00 hrs. In wages received actual

payment for overtime never amounted to more than 10Baht / day (0.2 Euro) or approximately 10% of the legal

minimum payment for over-time work (as determined bythe Thai Governments Central Wage Committee).

Inside the factory, which has no windows and only one

door, there is no ventilation to speak of. Workers oftencollapsed at work. There is no sickbay, no clean water- and not enough water, and workers suffered fromdiarrhoea.

All 300 Burmese workers lived together on the secondoor of the factory building, which was provided with

only the most primitive washing and toilet facilities.

After a meeting with a delegation of workers from thefactory, BLSO and TLC helped the 50 workers le a

complaint to the Labour Protection and Welfare Ofce

in Mae Sot (Ministry of Labour) - to get back their work

permits and wages owed. The Ofce did investigate and

the employer was ordered to pay all wages due and returnwork permits to those who wanted to quit.

2.3

Children of Burmese migrant workers in school built by migrant workers, Mae Sot, Tak Province, 2007. Photo: RTC


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Thai migrant workers

North-East Thailand (Isarn) supplies the greatest number of workers to the labour trafckers who work the overseas

labour markets. Ministry of Labour statistics show that 70% of Thai migrant workers working overseas are from the

North-East and that, of this gure, only 50-60% have completed their primary education (six years). Every year about

150 000 Thai leave Thailand with some form of contract, mainly 2-5 year contracts, to work overseas, but nobody hasany accurate records of the actual number of Thai that leave Thailand in search of work.

Thai and migrant workers uniteIn order to assist Burmese migrants and other ethnic minority groups to stand-up for their rights and increase their

collective bargaining power, in 2005 TLC decided to propose a difcult task: the organisation into one union of

workers from a factory in Mae Sot - where most workers are migrants, and workers from a factory in Ayutthaya wheremost are ethnic Thai. Both factories produce for the same global brands and are both under the ownership of the sameAsian corporation.

Steps to realise the proposal began in 2006. The process is complicated and was slowed down by the military Coupin September 2006, and then again by the demonstrations for democracy in Burma between August - September 2007which affected the mobility of both BLSO and TLC.

TLC has excellent cooperation with BLSO and other labour organization in Mae Sot and no problems or difculties in

being able to communicate with the Mae Sot workforce. Communications with the Ayutthaya Industrial Zone Union

Group is progressing, with a meeting of union leaders from Ayutthaya and Mae Sot planned to take place in Mae Sotin May 2008.

Thai migrant workers in Israel

Due to TLCs international activities with migrant workerrights, TLC was invited by the Workers Advice Centre(WAC), an Israeli NGO, to visit Israel where 27 000

Thai have found employment in the agricultural sectorby paying 7-12 000 USD to labour trafcking agencies

in Thailand.

The following two passages are from WACs website.In the last week of April 2007, an international labour

delegation of seven members visited Israel and Palestine,

meeting key players in the eld of employment in Israels

agricultural sector. The delegation was initiated andorganized by the independent workers association WAC-Maan, operating in Israel mainly with Arab workers.

The delegations aim was to create pressure towardending the violation of labour rights inthis eld. It proceeded in the best spirit

of working-class solidarity, adopting theslogan: An injury to one is an injury toall. http://solidaritymagazine.blogspot.

com/2007_05_01_archive.html

Particularly moving were the words ofJunya Lek Yimprasert, from Thailand,visiting Israel as part of the union delegation:

We, members of the delegation, have seenso many walls here walls of concrete and

walls of fear. We cannot bring joy if wecontinue to build walls. We shout together

No walls between workers! The crowd was stirred andshouted Su Su! - meaning struggle in Thai.

http://www.workersadvicecenter.org/1_may_2007b.html

As follow-up to TLCs participation in this delegation,Kav LaOved, a labour rights organization, invited TLCto join their struggle for the rights of migrant workersin Israel. Since May 2007 TLC has been engaged in

developing this new joint-project with Kav LaOved, to provide support to Thai migrant workers in Israel and

raise awareness in Thailand about the difculties facing

Thai migrant workers in Israel. This is yet another attemptby TLC to expose and stop labour trafcking, and to build

linkages between the host and sending country through properly formulated inter-government policies thatexclude proteering by private agencies.

3.3

3.3.1

3.4

Lek with Thai migrant workers in Israel, 2007.


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3.5

31

Network Against Exploitation & Trafcking of Migrant Workers

On February 3rd 2007 TLC convened an extraordinary and to some extent historical meeting for 19 organisations fromall over Thailand in the town of Khon Kaen, N-E Thailand, to establish a much needed Network Against Exploitationand Trafcking of Migrant Workers (NAT). NAT is currently being coordinated by Chutima Chaihong who is from

the North-East and herself a victim of trafcking to Taiwan.

Between October 2007 and April 2008,Chutima Chaihong (NAT), Junya

Yimprasert and Richard Thompson Coon(TLC) visited many villages in North-

East Thailand, interviewing villagersabout their experiences with the labourtrafcking business from Thailand to

Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore,to Israel, Bahrain and Iraq, to Japan and

Hong Kong, to Europe, Canada and theUSA etc. The results of this work will be

published in book form in 2008.

Discussion between TLC andthe Network Against Trafcking

Exploitation of Migrant Workers (NAT),

Ban Kam Ya Daeng, Khon Kaen,

26.02.2008.


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Resolution 54/134 of the UN General

Assembly (17.12.1999) designated

November 25 as International Day for

the Elimination of Violence againstWomen, and invited governments,

international organizations and NGOs

to organize activities designated to

raise public awareness of the problem

on that day.

Womens activists have marked

November 25 as a Day Against

Violence Against Women since

1981. This date came from the

brutal assassination, by order ofthe Dominican ruler Rafael Trujillo

(1930-61) in 1960, of the three

Mirabal sisters, political activists in

the Dominican Republic.

On 20 December 1993 the UN

General Assembly adopted the

Declaration on the Elimination of

Violence against Women (A/RES/48/104). Source: http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/violence/

BangkokOn the evening of 25 November 40 people from manycountries gathered in the ofce of the State Enterprises

Labour Relation Confederation (SERC) to strengthen

contacts on issues of violence against women. TLC co-ordinated the arrangements and co-hosted the gatheringwith Women Workers for Unity Group (WWUG). AltSean

Burma and Shan Women Action Network gave input onthe situation in Burma, on conditions being endured bywomen from minority groups under military rule, and onthe state of the political lobby for democracy.

Mae SotIn the early morning of November 24 a team of women,

including TLC staff and 11 union activists from WWUG,from the Thailands Womens Committee of theInternational Transport Federation [ITF Thailand] and

from the Centaco Labour Union, travelled to Mae Sotfrom Bangkok to participate in Stop Violence Against

Women Day - and learn about the labour situation in MaeSot.

The team had dinner with BLSO people and viewed aTLC documentary on the violent suppression of theBurmese who demonstrated against the military junta inSeptember 2007.

November 25 was given to an exchange of experiences between Thai trade unionists and Burmese migrantworkers on oppression of Thai and migrant workers,violence against women and the issues that WWUGconcentrates on at present e.g. gender inequality andchild-care centres for the industrial areas.

The Burmese women workers talked about their lives.They talked about sexual harassment, un-provokeddismissals, absence of maternity protection, miserable

payment and their powerlessness to release themselvesfrom rotten working conditions.

In the Mae Sot factories, pregnant women who take

maternity leave dont get paid and are afraid ofloosing their work place, so they stay working forfar too long into their pregnancies. In the workplace

there are rarely any safety or health measures. If

there is a search for narcotics, all women workersare made to strip naked in the same room. Rape ofmigrant women by employers and ofcials is not

uncommon and leads to suicides. Some employerschoose good-looking migrant women as their

personal concubines, or select them for plannedrape. In cases of pregnancy these women are red

and forced to abort.

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TLC and North-East Women Network,

Gender & Trade Workshop (TOT) , Khon Kaen, 20 Dec 2006.

Photo: Pornphan Mankita

33

The International Gender and Trade Network (IGTN) is a relatively new global initiative set-up by a group of

women activists in 1999 to stand-up to WTO policies. IGTN describes economic literacy as follows . . ability to

understand and think critically about how trade and economic policies impact our daily lives. By developing this

kind of literacy we become better equipped to engage with those who make and implement trade and economicpolicies. It also strengthens our ability to advocate for policies that are socially sustainable, pro-development and

gender equal. The IGTNs economic literacy work is situated within a broad political and educational framework.

The economic literacy materials developed by IGTN are intended to educate, empower and mobilise gender and

trade activists, educators and policy analysts around the world. http://www.igtn.org/page/economic/

Contact with the International Gender and Trade Network (IGTN) in 2000 has enriched TLCs experience with

grass-root education techniques on Gender and Trade.

Gender and Trade Literacy WorkshopsAs IGTNs Focal Point in Asia from 2001 - 2007,

TLCs Junya Yimprasert worked with IGTN Asia and

IGTN International in arranging many Gender and TradeLiteracy Workshops in which more than 500 activists

participated from grass-root womens movements, tradeunions and LGBT organisations all across Asia.

Various organizations besides IGTN have been

contributing to TLCs work with Gender and TradeEconomic Literacy, including Women in DevelopmentEurope (WIDE), Oxfam UK, Action Aid Thailand and

Diakonia.

The latest TLC Report on gender and trade (01.01.2008)by Junya Yimprasert entitled When cats become tigressesin Thailand - a story from Asia, can be found on theIGTN website http://www.igtn.org/page/789

Lessons learntAs some participants reected in their evaluations,

the Gender and Trade issue is difcult to comprehend

completely in just one session. In

patriarchal Thai society gender inequalitiesare deep-rooted in the beliefs, behavioural

norms and life styles of most women andmen. It can take a life-time for a woman

to unpack and liberate herself from patriarchal behaviour patterns, reexes

and responses. Learning sessions becomeeven more complicated and difcult when

it comes to the relationship betweengender and trade under the neo-liberalapproach to the globalisation of capital.

Attempting to paint the linkages between

trade, politics and the impact of neo-liberal policy-making on the behaviour ofwomen and men is a challenging task. Theobjective at least is to attempt to narrow

the gap of gender inequality in Asian societies and, by sodoing, bring at least some greater joy to families and to

women, and men, as individuals.

The heart of participatory learning is to generate anatmosphere in which all can learn both together andfrom each other, and every training session has been alearning process for TLC - of learning with and from the

participants. Planning for each session must ensure thatthere is enough space to enable both facilitators and

participants to adjust to the unforeseen issues that arise,to the unexpected demands and requests that always doemerge.

Gender and Trade literacy hand-bookWith the experience gained from approximately 30Gender and Trade Literacy Workshops all across Asia, inAfrica, Latin America and Europe, TLC is now workingto roll all experience to date into a popular hand-book onGender and Trade that describes the subject and the toolsrequired for grass-root facilitators.

Gender and Trade


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In building the Thai Woman Forum, TLC has given

priority to the need to build across issue networks andengage as many organisations as possible in a way that

makes them equal stakeholders in the discussion. Fromthe TLC staff Numnual Yapparat and Premjai Jaikla havetaken most responsibility for this sensitive task.

One central consideration was / is how to generatediscussion that builds a complete picture of the genderissue: how to make it identiable as a structural fault

running through every sector of society.

Much effort was given to coordinating the different sectorsof the labour movement, especially the agricultural andrural movements, and to bringing the Labour Movementtogether with NGOs and the existing gender campaigns,including the gay and lesbian movements.

Coordinating these groups, who all work full-time intheir specic elds, was no easy task. Ofcial letters

of invitation were sent to state enterprise workers and

organisations linked to the machinery of State. Therewere 5 preparatory meetings. Each meeting emphasisedthe need for active contribution from all participants.Time had to be given to explaining the aims of the Forumand how best to lay the foundations so that long-term co-operation after the Forum was ensured.

Perception that all participants were stake-holders wasenhanced by asking everybody what they thought were,for them, the gender problems that needed to be discussed.There was a serious effort to integrate the specic problems

within thematic topics that all participants might be able toconnect with. Topics included, for instance, Beliefs andsexual standards, Trade under capitalism and Sexualdiscrimination. Each organisation (or issue-network)

Building the Forum

Although gender consciousness is a developing aspect within the overall struggle of the Thai Labour Movement, the

Labour Movement has been limiting itself to emphasising the legal framework and this has, so far, provided rather

few benets to most ordinary working-class women, especially with regard to women in the agricultural sector.

The negative impacts of globalisation will not be overcome without solidarity and grass-root awareness, especially

with respect to gender inequality, which is becoming an increasingly complex issue as globalisation proceeds.

The number of women members of the Thai Parliament seems to be stuck at 6-8%. The unequal participation of

women in policy-making in Thailand is having a negative impact on the development of all aspects of Thai society

- on education, welfare and human rights.

To increase awareness of gender sensitive issues in Thai society, TLC began Gender and Trade Workshops for

state enterprise and private sector workers in 2004. These workshops aim at shedding light on the impacts that

globalization and the FTA philosophy are having on our capital assets and gender issues, and emphasise that

gender equality can only result through effort and input from both men and women.

Embedded in all sectors of society, gender inequality cannot be eliminated through workshops alone. TLC considers

it vital to Thai society that gender issues be raised and debated on an open public platform, and that both bottom-up

and top-down pro-active measures be developed simultaneously.

To this end, TLC has been working to open-up cross-sectoral discussion and debate. The birth of the Thai Women

Forum is a direct result of TLCs Gender and Trade Workshops, and perhaps the most signicant aspect of the Thai

Women Forum is that it does seem to be managing to bring all sectors of Thai society together on the same platform

of debate.

The Forum considers that the current economic situation places men as much as women under pressures that have

a direct negative impact on family life. Male trade unionists have played an important supporting role in the gender

struggle, for example in the ght for a 90-day maternity leave.

The politics of gender inequality in Thai society cannot be divorced from political issues. Gender inequality isa reection of, and a parallel problem alongside, many other forms of social injustice. We cannot separate the

struggle for gender equality from e.g. the struggle against the globalisation of capital, or from the problem of HIV /

AIDS, or from ethnic inequality or state violence against ethnic minorities. The struggle for gender equality forms a

part of, and must be integrated with, our common struggle for local and global justice.

Thai Woman Forum


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was encouraged to engage with and provide speakers foreach topic, with the hope that this would result in betterunderstanding of how issues affect different sectors andgroups.

Problems encountered

Lack of experience in working across issue networks

meant much time had to be given to explaining themodel of cooperation. Success was achieved by buildingdiscussion groups around each topic with as many issue-networks as possible.

There was too little self-reliance with regard to attendancein the Forum. Participation expenses were an issue due toabsence of nance, but also because of an NGO culture

in Thailand that is accustomed to depending on externalfunding for all activity.

The Forum had to adapt to and deal with the unexpected.Held during the period of the latest military Coup,there were many visits by the police, participants were

blocked from entering the building by a paranoid ownerof the premises, and the forum was threatened by localhooligans. Also, in their enthusiasm to join-in all thisexcitement, several groups of participants coming fromfar away had (fortunately not serious) car accidents and

never arrived!

Results of the Forum

The Forum (March 3-4) was attended by 170 people

representing 50 organisations from all over Thailand: anextremely diverse group of people in every respect. Therewere three main, positive results from the Forum.

Firstly, this new experience of working together acrossnetworks meant that new and stronger alliances were

built. People found that they could understand eachothers problems and see how they were inter-connected.A new culture of respect began to emerge, especially sowith regard to attitudes towards gay, lesbian, bisexual andtransgender people. Also important was the emergence ofdeeper understanding of the issues facing muslim womenfrom the southern provinces, who now face violence frommany quarters, stirred-up by the violent tactics of the ThaiState.

Secondly, the forum highlighted the small strugglesof the small people: women, small farmers, factoryworkers, sher-folk and LGBT activists from, for the

most part, the self-employed sector. All talked about theirtrials and tribulations and also their victories.

Thirdl

TLC Annual Review 2007 Eng

Documents

Transcript of TLC Annual Review 2007 Eng