The opposition Thai Pakdee party is launching a campaign urging Thai people to protest against the proposal of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to ratify Conventions 87 and 98 of the International Labour Organisation and the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families.
Convention 87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of the Rights to Organise) guarantees that workers and employers have the right to establish and join organisations of their own choosing without prior authorisation. It protects these organisations from government interference, dissolution or supervision.
Convention No 98 (Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining) protects workers against anti-union discrimination and requires governments to promote voluntary collective bargaining between employers and workers’ organisations.
Both documents are among the 11 fundamental conventions within the ILO’s 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, meaning all member states are obligated to respect these principles, even if they haven’t formally ratified them.
On its website page, the Thai Pakdee party asks the Thai public whether they can accept that foreign workers can establish labour unions, rally, protest and negotiate in a labour dispute. If they do not, the party asks them to scan the party’s QR code to join the protest against the NHRC’s move and the submission of a protest letter addressed to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
Thai Pakdee party spokesperson, Chaowalak Wiangwiset, said that the three ILO conventions are an issue of grave concern, especially the convention regarding the rights of migratory workers and their families, both documented and undocumented, noting that these place a massive financial burden on taxpayers in Thailand.
She said that, if migrant workers, documented or not, have the right to receive pay and benefits not less than local workers, this would create an incentive for migrant workers to enter Thailand to seek jobs.
Under the convention, she noted that families of migrant workers would also be protected, which means that their underage children would have access to free education until they are 15 and health care, adding that, state hospitals already collectively incur about 2.5 billion baht annually in lost medical fees for the treatment provided to migrant workers.
“If we ratify the three conventions, this would mean that our government would be obligated to protect the rights of all migrant workers and their families and to bear the financial burden of providing them education and health care,” said Chaowaluck as she noted that most migrant workers do not pay taxes because their monthly incomes are below the taxation threshold of 26,584 baht.
“Are we encouraging foreign workers to migrate and settle down in our country freely?” she asked.
Regarding Conventions 87 and 98, the Thai Pakdee spokesperson said their ratification would pave the way for foreign employees to establish labour unions in the country and this will further complicate labour conflict resolution.
