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9 October, 2013Thai government promise ratification of ILO Core Labour Rights by 2014
On 7 October IndustriALL affiliates in Thailand, the Confederation of Industrial Labour of Thailand (CILT), the State Enterprise Unions Confederation (SERC), Thai Labour Solidarity Committee and the migrant workers network and the informal sector network, marched to the Government House demanding the ratification of ILO Conventions 87 and 98 and labour law reform that adheres to international labour standards. 3000 workers from various industry sectors joined the march.
Chalee Loysoong said that
Thailand is one of the founding members of the ILO and it's time for Thai government to ratify the two important conventions to pave the way for labour law reform in this country.
The right to organize and bargain collectively is our basic right but as the current labour law has shortcomings and loopholes, workers who want to form or join trade unions are not sufficiently protected under the current labour law
Thai unions demand that the Thai government bring the issue of ratification into discussion with the House of Representatives. Once the House of Representatives has voted to support the ratification, the next step is for the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to proceed with ratification process. After ratification, the government has one year to amend the labour law so that it's in line with the ILO Conventions.
What we are asking for today is that government start the discussions with the cabinet ministers, agreeing on the timeframe and steps toward the ratification and that by 2nd May 2014, Thailand will have ratified the two ILO Conventions
said Loysoong
Ratification of the two core conventions will benefit all the workers in Thailand and contribute to sustainable social economic development and decent work in the country,
he continued.
Thailand has more than 2 million migrant workers from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. These workers are struggling to unionize in order to better protect their rights.
At the end of the day, Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok gave a commitment to discuss the issue with the cabinet members in October, also that a Working Group consisting of government representatives and workers representatives will be formed to work out procedures toward the ratification of the two conventions within 60 days.