Untitled Document

The government policy to develop Thailand into a newly industrialised country through promotion of foreign investment and export industries, which has turned the country consequently into a production base of transnational corporations that benefit from exploitation of Thai labour forces, has led to a rapid increase in number of factories at the same time as severity of labour problems, including low wages, long working hours, poor safety, health and other working conditions, retrenchment, and violation of workers’ rights, such as rights to form labour unions and to negotiate with the employers.

These problems have been worsening since 1997 when the country faced the economic downturn. Seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund, the government consequently made the country dependent on and subject to the institution. Structural adjustment programme that came as the condition of the IMF’s rescue plan led to retrenchment of large number of workers and all kinds of workers’ rights violation. The government can not solve the problems due to on the one hand, Thailand’s labour law that are both archaic and unfair to workers, and on the other hand, ineffectiveness of related government agencies to protect interests of workers.

Recognising the severity of situation, a number of academics, lawyers, human rights advocates and labour activists therefore formed Centre for Labour Information Service and Training (CLIST) on 1 st May 1991 to be an NGO or private, nonprofit organisation that a) conduct training and other educational process to raise workers’ awareness and provide knowledge on their rights, b) promote formation of workers’ organisations as the vehicles to fight for improvement of workers’ status and working and living conditions, and c) to campaign for amendment of the labour law to make them better protect workers’ rights and interests, and provide assistance to workers whose rights are violated.

Training
Promotion of formation of workers’ and organisations
Policy advocacy
Legal aid
Workers newspapers

CLIST has cooperated with other NGOs and labour unions to campaign for labour law that better protect workers’ rights and provide better welfare for workers, including the campaign for 90 days full-paid maternity leave and the campaign for enactment of a new labour law on safety in workplace.

Supporting factory workers in their actions to demand for their rights and welfare by sending legal advisors or experienced persons to assist them tackling problems has always been one of CLIST’s main functions.

demand compensation for families of workers who lost their in a fire at Kader doll factory in 1993;
demand compensation for workers in the case of Shoe Tech factory;
demand abolition of temporary employment practice at Dynamic Toy factory;
demand compensation from the government for families of child workers who lost their in a fire at a small cloth factory;
support demands made by workers at Gnaform Bra factory;
support strike by workers at Thai-Belgium factory;
support demand for compensation higher than standard set in the labour law by workers at Eden Group company; and
demand the government to eradicate child labour exploitation in 1998 .

In 1998, apart from opposing privatisation of state enterprises, CLIST also campaigned for enactment of a law that required a child care centre to be set up in each factory and community, a law that provided social security in form of unemployment benefit, and a labour relation law to protect rights of both Thai and foreign workers in Thailand.

CLIST’s participatory training was aimed to assist target group workers to acquire thinking, situational analysis, planning and organisational management capacity. We also carry out conscientisation training aiming to motivate target group workers, particularly women workers, to involve in the labour movement to improve all aspects of their life quality. Content of the training includes an analysis of problems in factory, community and society, understanding of gender inequality, women’s rights, workers’ rights, labour law, and understanding of the country’s social, economic and political situation, for example. Training is used as an entry point to build workers’ self-confidence and recognise the benefits of working in group or organisation, leading them to take part in labour activities to improve their livelihood and development of the country as a whole.

CLIST publish “Friends of Workers Newsletter” to inform workers about their fellow workers’ activities and stimulate labour unions to support actions fairly taken by workers. The newsletter is published twice a month at 500 copies per issue which are distributed to labour unions and related NGOs and labour activists. We also have articles sent to the mass media for dissemination to the public aiming to make them understand labour problems and support actions fairly taken by workers.

CLIST support workers to form groups and organisations. We particularly support women workers to take part in labour unions and other forms of workers organisations so that they could take active role in self-development of their women folks and all aspects of social development, and also to create gender equality. CLIST support establishment of labour unions and help strengthen the unions at grassroots and local level so that they can be self-reliant and be a strong foundation for the labour movement. We do this by sending our staff to work full time in the provinces around Bangkok where industrial estates are located, such as Samut Prakarn, Samut Sakhon, Nakhon Prathom, Prathum Thani and Ayutthaya.

In 1998, CLIST supported women workers to set up Women Workers for Liberation Group. It is a group of grassroots women workers to campaign for solutions to problems faced by women workers at factory level. Campaign issues include, for example, opposition to sexual harassment and protection for pregnant workers. We also advocate a project to form a network of garment and textile workers to improve their collective bargaining power.

CLIST support organisation of workers in the export processsing zones (EPZ)which are located in several Industrial Investment Zone. The right to form labour union is now severely violated because labour unions are strongly opposed in the EPZ industrial zones. In this respect, CLIST support formation of group of labour unions, such as the chemical labour union in Ayutthaya Industrial Zone.

In 2000, Thailand experienced one of the worst economic downturns resulting in a massive lay off of workers and the unemployment rate was as high as 5 per cent. In the meantime, the problem of outsourcing and the hiring system through labour agencies which led to the increasing number of contract workers, became widespread. Consequently, this has caused the situation of job insecurity, and workers have become even more reluctant to join trade union due to fears of victimization. On the other hand, after several years of CLIST’s organizing work, many trade unions had come together and formed themselves an umbrella group known under ‘Alliance of Democratic Trade Unions (ADTU) in 2004. The ADTU was tasked to push forward demands of the labour movement to the government, namely law implementation on social security for unemployed, increasing of child care benefits from Baht 150 to Baht 200 per month, increasing of the minimum wage from Baht 165 to Baht 200 per day and the adoption of national wage system, and amendments of labour law for a better protection of trade union leaders and activists.

Over the past years, CLIST has supported several struggles of Thai workers to uphold their rights: the case of Kader Fire tragedy in 1993 – in which 188 workers were killed in the factory when the fire broke out – with the result of significant law improvements concerning work safety and the requirement that every workplace has work safety committee to closely look after the safety aspect in their workplaces. And in 1998, the struggle of Eden workers whose rights were abused when the company closed down its business without paying compensation, had resulted in a year long protest by the workers for the fact that the government was too slow in its intervention to protect the workers, subsequently led to the law amendments and the increase of compensation money from 6 months to 10 months of workers’ last salaries; as well as the set up of workers’ fund by the government aiming to relieve immediate economic problems of workers when companies are shut down and workers are not paid their compensation. And for year 2002, there have been achievements concerning the increasing of child care benefits to Baht 200, and the government plans on social security for unemployed.

Today subcontracting and outsourcing have grown out of anyone’s control, and workers employed on the permanent basis are being pushed into short term contract who work without basic welfare benefits – and in many cases have to pay high commission to the labour agency for finding them jobs. Thus, the government’s claim of economic success using the indicator of GDP improvement does not help nor does it convince on how the livelihood of the poor has been improved.

Workers employed under subcontracting companies or labour agencies are not protected by labour law, which makes them no different from slave or forced labour. Trade union rights and collective bargaining are being undermined on a vast scale. The Government meanwhile kept silent on all these happenings.

From the year 2004 the future plan of CLIST is to emphasize on campaigning and organizing contract workers and awareness raising on this issue in order to demand for the abolishment of Labour supplier practices and sub contracting in the workplace

At present, CLIST has continued to organize workers as well as to strengthen existing trade unions in at least 20 companies which has about10,000 workers in total. Leaders in these companies have regularly joined courses on trade union education organized by CLIST and have been active in their struggles to safeguard workers’ rights as well as to improve workers’ livelihoods.

Achievements of the past ten years are the results of integrated activities that cover various aspects namely organizing, education, campaign as well as creating workers’ solidarity links at national and international levels.

CLIST also has links and coordinates with NGOs and labour unions in other countries. This network covers nearly all countries in the world, thus enabling Thai workers in transnational corporations to link with foreign workers working in the same corporations which subsequently helps them increase their collective bargaining power and international workers solidarity.

CLIST work closely with international solidarity organizations such as the Asia Pacific Workers Solidarity Links (APWSL), Committee for Asian Women (CAW), Asia Monitor Resource Center (AMRC), Transnational Information Exchange (TIE-Asia), International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) and Clean Cloth Campaign.

CLIST operate with donations from workers both in Thailand and other countries, grants from foreign development organisations and supports to specific projects. Each CLIST projects is financially audited by certified auditor and financial statements are available to the donors.