Internationally Recognised Core Labour Standards in Thailand 154kb) Read the report on: http://www.icftu.org /www/pdf/usclsreport2004.pdf

By Stefania Bianchi

BRUSSELS, Nov 14 (IPS) - A leading trade union network here is calling on the Thai government to halt violation of labour rights.

The Brussels-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), which represents 158 million workers in 231 affiliated organisations in 150 countries, is urging the Thai government to comply with international labour standards.

These include measures to protect freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike.

Child labour, forced labour, violation of trade union rights and gender discrimination remain common practice in Thailand, according to a new ICFTU report released Thursday.

The report 'Internationally Recognised Core Labour Standards in Thailand' produced to coincide with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) review of Thai trade policy this week is among a series of reports ICFTU is producing across the developing world.

It says Thailand has ratified only four of the eight core ILO (International Labour Office) conventions that it accepted at WTO ministerial declarations at Singapore, Geneva and Doha, and in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

ICFTU is concerned that changes to legislation will further restrict human and labour rights.

"The Thai government must ratify and fully implement the ILO core labour conventions concerning the freedom of association, discrimination and minimum age," ICFTU spokesperson Barbara Kwateng told IPS.

"It is also essential that the government withdraws its revised version of the Labour Relations Act which would weaken the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike," she said.

The ICFTU report points to regular denial of the freedom of association. It says that Thai law recognises trade union rights but in practice there is little protection against anti-union discrimination. Government regulations prohibit civil servants from forming unions.

The report says women receive lower pay for equal work in virtually every sector of the economy. They are concentrated in lower paid jobs and have less access to education. The literacy rate among them is much lower. Migrant workers work for low pay in sweatshop conditions.

ICFTU urges the Thai government to continue to work with the ILO to address the problem of child labour.

ICFTU warns that many children work on family farms or illegally in cities, mainly in the service sector, and that they are extremely vulnerable to exploitation. Many child workers come from neighbouring countries, and work as domestic workers or in prostitution.

The report says the government needs to make further efforts to eliminate bonded labour and trafficking of women and children. It calls for "determined action" to improve the position of women through greater access to education and less wage discrimination.

"We will continue to support workers in their pursuit of basic labour rights," Kwateng said. "The ICFTU is always ready to mobilise international support in cases of urgent action especially when these concern trade union rights."