Free Consultant
Should there be an international labour union?
The Chairperson of the Foundation for Human Rights and Development (HRDF) issued a request to the Thai government to reconsider the employment policy under Section 64 of the Royal Ordinance on the Foreign Workers Management B.E. 2560, to amend the Labour Relations Act., and to provide opportunities for foreign workers to form labour unions.
A reader may question this situation since many Thai people have already lost their jobs. Why do we still need to revise our policy for foreign workers to take advantage of our country? Why the Foundation for Human Rights calls out to the government to reconsider the employment policy under Section 64 of the Royal Ordinance on the Foreign Workers Management B.E. 2560? The reason is due to the exploitation of Thai employers. In the recent case where Paeseedang Farm Crops Limited Partnership has underpaid their worker wages and severance pay. The case became a labour dispute submitted to the Labour Court for meditation.
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The dispute started from the employees, Mr. So-Nhai and others, who worked for Paeseedang Farm Crops Limited Partnership from 23 July 2003 to 13 May 2019. They worked as labour who carrying the crop produce. Each day, they will be assigned to a different position and get paid based upon the outcome. For example, if they got paid for 200 – 400 baht, the employer will deduct their wages 30 – 100 baht as a fee for work permit card in pursuant of Section 64 of the Royal Ordinance on the Foreign Workers Management B.E. 2560.
Around September 2019, the employer was gradually laid off some of its workers. Until 1 November 2019, the employer announced a name of co-defendant (of this case) in the list of terminated workers. All terminated workers then submitted the request to the labour inspector at Tak Office of Labor Welfare and Protection, Mae Sot Branch. On 23 February 2020, the labour inspector ordered Paeseedang Farm Crops Limited Partnership, the employer, to pay for wages, overtime payment, and compensation to Mr. So-Nhai and other employees (totaling 49 workers) for 6,856,967.91 baht. However, the employer disagreed with the labor inspector’s order and filed a lawsuit at the Labour Court Region VI to revoke the order. HRDF joined hand with Myanmar Labor Ambassador and Migrant Working Group like Yaung Chi Oo to help these 49 workers during the legal proceeding.
The court mediated the case with the employee. It resulted in the payment for 49 workers totaling 2,414,976 baht, less than the amount ordered by the labour inspector, which was ordered for 6,856,967.97 baht or only 37% of the wages that the workers are entitled to by law. The employer has paid the said amount to the workers in full as agreed in court. The employer’s payment for the rest of the workers who did not attend the court is given through the labor inspector. The money was held and paid by the Tak Office of Labor Welfare and Protection, Mae Sot Branch.
In the second case, the dispute started on 17 November 2020 where the labour inspector issued order no. 155/2563 demanding N.T.K. Management Company Limited for payment to 12 Myanmar workers, including compensation for each worker at the total of 121,400 baht and the outstanding wages for 59,000 baht. The total amount was 181,400 baht with 15% interest until the payment was made fully.
This case started in February 2020 when the Human Rights and Development Foundation received a complaint through the Myanmar Migrant Network Bangkok (MMNB). The matter was concerning 12 subcontracted Myanmar workers who were laid off without paying the outstanding wages and any compensation under the labor protection law. The workers demanded that the company pay a documentation fee, which deducted from their wages and their compensation as required by law. After receiving the complaint, the Foundation coordinated with the Counter Service Center, Ministry of Labour, and the Office of Labor Protection and Welfare, Samut Prakan Branch, to submit a request to the labor inspector an order for the company to comply with the laws. The labor inspector summoned the company two times with no response or explanation from the company. Consequently, the labor inspector issued an order based on the submitted evidence. The Foundation has followed up on the payment of wages and compensation and found that it is all duly paid.
In this case, Mr. Somchai Homlaor, the Chairperson of the Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF), deem that since 2015, the Thai government has had a policy of enforcing Section 14 of the Foreigners’ Work Act, B.E. 2551, which are superseded by Section 64 of the Royal Ordinance on the Foreign Workers Management B.E. 2560, to allow foreign workers being of the nationality of the countries having a common boundary with Thailand to enter into the Kingdom for temporary employment during the specified period or season. The worker is required to have a border pass that must be renewed every 30 days and is allowed to work for a short period of 3 months at a time. The allowed occupations are listed in 24 types, including domestic workers. Employers exploit this loophole by, instead of hiring a permanent worker, they hire temporary workers for 3 months. After that, they will keep renewing the border pass to avoid their legal obligation under labour laws; The Labor Protection Act. Social Security Law and Compensation Law. Their wages are even lesser than workers under other laws like the migrant workers under the MOU. These migrant workers are vulnerable and often find themselves victims of illegal labour exploitation, inaccessibility to their labour rights, and legal protections. Finally, it will become a labour dispute as these workers were not protected under the Labor Relations Act as they are supposed to be.
The Foundation has also assisted factory workers who suffered from occupation accident to receive their compensation under the Compensation Act. Unfortunately, the workers’ access to the proceeding is still delayed and inaccessible. For workers to be protected under labour protection laws, there is a need for the process with no discrimination. It also requires an amendment to the Labor Relations Law to provide opportunities for migrant workers to form labour unions under the law and in line with the International Labor Convention No. 87 and No. 98, which the Thai government still has not signed or proceed with the signing process as they announced in the National Plan of Action on Business and Human Rights in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principle on Business and Human Rights 2011: UNGP.
In this regard, the use of subcontracted labor is against the Royal Ordinance on the Foreign Workers Management B.E. 2560 in Section 41, Section 46, and Section 110/1. Currently, the subcontracting workers are still found in the various industrial estates. The subcontract workers are often exploited by wages deduction, forcing them to quit or suddenly lay off without severance pay. After this, the Foundation will use these cases studies to highlight the need for change to the Ministry of Labor and provide legal protection to workers. It also helps reduce the burden on the labor court on deciding disputes. What do you think about the establishment of an international labour union?
Sources: https://shorturl.asia/jn6z3
