(ILO Bangkok) Some 30 leaders of 12 Thai national trade unions expressed concern about restrictive labour rights and announced an advocacy campaign directed at ensuring the Thai Government ratifies core international labour standards covering freedom of association, the right to organize and collective bargaining.

The calls were made at a national workshop, "Gaps and Challenges in the Realization of Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining in Thailand”, organized to mark the 60th anniversary of ILO Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize (1948) and Convention No. 98 on Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining (1949. Thailand has not yet ratified either convention.

Speaking on behalf of the trade unions Mr. Udomsak Bupanimit, President of Labour Congress of Thai Labour said: “We union leaders were frustrated at the discussion of the Tripartite Working Group which was held on 2nd October at the Labour Ministry to review the national implications of ratification of the conventions, because the Government uses the forum to make an excuse for non-ratification”.

“ILO Conventions No. 87 and 98 constitute core labour standards on fundamental rights that will lead to protection of other basic human rights, social justice, sustainable development and poverty eradication”, said Bill Salter, Director of the International Labour Organization’s Subregional Office for East Asia, who opened the meeting. “Trade unions in Thailand stressed the need for ratification of both conventions and constantly requested the government to take steps towards their ratifications at various tripartite events”.

Mr Salter also said” the ILO is concerned with the situation that the police have issued arrest warrants to eight railway union executives”.

Union leaders called for the reform of labour laws which still contain provisions issued by past military governments and which were intended to control the labour movement.

They pointed out that the Labour Relations Act B.E. 2518 does not conform to international labour standards, and workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively are severely controlled by the authorities. In particular, the State Enterprise Labour Relations Act B.E. 2543 strips state enterprise employees of the right to form or join an organization of their choice. Since public servants do not have the right to organize and bargain collectively, teachers earn very low wages and suffer from poor working conditions. The registration and operation of trade unions is also hindered and interfered with by the authorities and employers.

To ensure these ILO core conventions are ratified by the Government of Thailand in the near future the Union leaders intend to organize an advocacy campaign. As well as working with the international labour community, they will engage civil society and academics, lobby parliamentarians, bureaucrats and politicians, and organize informal workers the union leaders’ recently submitted a petition to the Prime Minister and the Government will make decision about ratification by January 2010.

“Union unity, organizing informal workers, farmers and migrants, and grass-roots mobilization are key to move the Government and realize the ratification of the conventions” said Pong-Sul Ahn, Senior Specialist on Workers’ Activities, ILO Sub-regional Office for East Asia.

Thailand is one of the founding members of the ILO and hosts its regional office in Bangkok.

The meeting, which was jointly organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Thai national unions, was held at the Novotel Hotel, Bangkok, 3-4 November 2009.

For more information please contact:
Pong- Sul Ahn, Senior Specialist
Workers Activities, ILO, Bangkok
Email, Tel.: 02 288-2247

Krisdaporn Singhaseni
Information Officer, ILO Bangkok
Email, Tel.: 02 288 1664