Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 331, June 2003

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 67. The Committee last examined this case at its November 2002 meeting when it regretted that no progress had been made in respect of its previous recommendations on the conformity of the State Enterprise Labour Relations Act (SELRA) with the principles of freedom of association. The Committee therefore urged the Government to take the necessary measures to amend the act in order to bring it fully into conformity with these principles and to keep it informed of any developments in this regard [see 329th Report, paras. 136-138]. The examination of the Committee relates also to the amendments of the Labour Relations Act which applies to the private sector. When it last examined this particular aspect, the Committee requested the Government to send a copy of the draft Labour Relations Act as soon as the Council of State had finished its reading thereof [see 325th Report, para. 84].
2. 68. In a communication, dated 20 March 2003, the Government submits information on the Labour Relations Act. It first recalls the key issues of the Act to be amended and which were already noted by the Committee in one of its previous examinations [see 323rd Report, para. 89]. The Government then proceeds to give a detailed chronology of the revision process implemented in relation to the Act, and which can be summarized as follows. It should first be recalled that the Committee had already been informed of the transmission to the Council of State of the draft amendment to the Labour Relations Act and of the submission of suggestions by the main employers’ and workers’ organizations. According to the Government, upon reception of the amendment, the Office of the State Council submitted it to the Second Committee of the State Councillors for scrutiny. The process began on 22 July 1999. The Government indicates that, on 4 July 2000, the President of the Labour Congress of Thailand (LT) and 50 workers coming from 26 labour organizations, wrote a letter to the Prime Minister to oppose the draft amendment. On 26 February 2001, the opinion of the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare (MOLSW) was sought by the secretariat of the cabinet as to whether the Minister deemed it fit to continue the scrutiny of the amendment by the State Council. The Minister, in a letter of 29 March 2001, eventually informed the Office of the State Council that it should pursue its scrutiny of the amendment. To enhance the consultation of the interested parties on the amendment, a seminar was organized by the Office of the State Council. During the seminar, employers’ and workers’ organizations proposed additional amendments, which were transmitted by the MOLSW to the State Council so that it could take them into account. The amendment to the Labour Relations Act is still under review by the Ninth Committee of the State Councillors to which the Office of the State Council has now referred it.
3. 69. The Committee takes note of this information. It regrets that the Government has not given any information on the measures it was requested to take by the Committee to amend the SELRA to bring it into full conformity with the principles of freedom of association. The Committee would like to recall that it had expressed concern over the maintenance by the Act of a situation of trade union monopoly in state enterprises, broad powers granted to the Registrar to oversee certain internal affairs of the trade union, a general prohibition of strikes and severe penalties for strike action, even when peaceful [see 327th Report paras. 109-111]. The Committee trusts that the Government has taken the necessary steps to give effect to the recommendation of the Committee and requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard. Finally, the Committee requests the Government once again to send a copy of the latest version of the amendment to the Labour Relations Act so that it may assess its contents in the light of the principles on freedom of association.