On August 28, the Dusit Police Bureau in Bangkok issued arrest warrants against three union activists for their role in a peaceful demonstration against the dismissal of nearly 2000 workers at Body Fashion Thailand, a wholly owned subsidiary of Triumph International.

The day before, hundreds of Triumph workers assembled in front of the parliament to hand a petition to the Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. However, Vejjajiva refused to meet with the union representatives, and instead the workers were confronted with police using a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD). This controversial military weapon consists of a high concentration of sound waves that can cause temporarily deafness and blurred vision, as well as permanent hearing loss. According to human rights organisations, this non-lethal weapon can be classified as a technique of political control that poses a threat to civil liberties.

Bunrawd Saiwong (33), secretary of the Triumph International Thailand Labour Union, Jitra Kotchadej (34), independent consultant of TITLU, and Sunthorn Boonyod (50), manager at Labour Congress Centre for Labour Unions of Thailand, are accused of breaching the recently invoked Internal Security Act forbidding demonstrations of more than 10 people in Dusit district in Bangkok. The ISA gives a wide range of power to the authorities to arrest and detain, not unlike a State of Emergency decree. In this case, the law is being used to suppress peaceful assembly and freedom of speech in a case of labour rights violations committed by a European multinational corporation.

The demonstration at the Thai parliament is one of the many protest actions organised by the Triumph union against the dismissal of half of the workforce of the Triumph International subsidiary Body Fashion Thailand. The union has been confronted with anti-union behaviour by the management since summer 2008. They fear that the announced retrenchment is yet another attempt to get rid of unionised workplaces. This is supported by the fact that other factories in Thailand, owned by the same company but without a democratically elected union in place, are expanding. Furthermore, Triumph failed to abide by ILO convention 158 and the OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, which call for companies to develop and negotiate a retrenchment plan with the union, and to provide detailed information supporting the business decision behind the plan. Throughout August, the management repeatedly cancelled meetings with the union.

See also http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent-actions/triumph-dismissals-in-asia-attempt-to-get-rid-of-unions to find out more about the mass layoffs at Triumph factories in Thailand and the Philippines.

Please write to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva today to prevent the arrests of these three union activists.

Also contact Triumph International here to demand proper negotiations with the unions in Thailand and the Philippines in case of mass-dismissals.

Send the following letter directly to:

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva,
The Secretariat Of the Prime Minister Office
Thai Government House
Phitsanulok Road, Dusit
Bangkok, Thailand

Fax: +662 282 8558
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dear Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva,

I write to you today to express my serious concerns about the arrest warrants against Jitra Kotchadej, Sunthorn Boonyod, and Bunrawd Saiwong, issued by the Dusit Police Bureau on August 28, 2009. I have been informed by the Clean Clothes Campaign that these three labour rights activists are accused of inciting unrest for participating in a peaceful protest against the dismissal of nearly 2000 workers at Body Fashion Thailand, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Triumph International. Bunrawd Saiwong is the secretary of the Triumph International Thailand Labour Union (TITLU), Jitra Kotchadej works as an independent consultant for TITLU, and Sunthorn Boonyod is a manager at Labour Congress Centre for Labour Unions of Thailand (LCCLUT).

I am very concerned that the arrest warrants are being used to suppress peaceful assembly and freedom of speech in a case of labour rights violations committed by a European multinational corporation. In addition to the arrest warrants, I am alarmed by reports of excessive police brutality as evidenced by use of a military weapon, the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), against the peaceful protesters.

As you may know, on June 29 Body Fashion Thailand announced that nearly half of the factory’s workforce would be dismissed by the end of August. Triumph failed to abide by ILO convention 158 and the OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises which call for companies to develop and negotiate a retrenchment plan with the union, and to provide detailed information supporting the business decision behind the plan.

Naturally, the Triumph International Thailand Labour Union has rejected Triumph’s unilateral decision and called on the company to halt the retrenchment and engage in transparent negotiation with the union. This was the focus of the peaceful protest that took place on August 27 in front of the Thai Parliament.

I send this email to urge your government to:

• Ensure that the arrest warrants against Jitra Kotchadej, Sunthorn Boonyod, and Bunrawd Saiwong are withdrawn with immediate effect;
• investigate the use of LRAD by the police on August 27, 2009 against the laid-off workers of Triumph International subsidiary Body Fashion Thailand Co., Ltd, Anyon Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and subcontractor Worldwell Garment Co., Ltd, who joined the peaceful protest in front of the parliament building;
• ensure that Body Fashion Thailand, Co., Ltd, Anyon Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and subcontractor Worldwell Garment Co., Ltd, abide by ILO convention 158 and the OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises;
• ensure the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of speech to union leaders, union members and workers in general.

Sincerely,