ITUC // Trade Union Development Projects Directory

For trade unions, development cooperation is a part of our commitment to fight poverty, promote sustainable social development and improve working and living conditions for all.

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Etablir des syndicats dans le secteur des entreprises d’État en Thaïlande

duration: 4 years (From 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2018)
budget: 368,000 EUR

Description
The overall goal of the project is to ensure that trade union confederations in Thailand are stronger and more representative, capable of engaging in constructive dialogue with employers and government in its fight for workers’ rights. Thailand has not yet ratified the ILO Convention C87 and C98 – conventions significant for the Thai labor movement weakened by numerous labor laws. In the public sector, only the workers in State companies have defined labor rights under the State Enterprises Labor Relation Act (SELRA). This project is specifically targets the State Enterprises Labor Relations Confederation (SERC) focusing on improving and strengthening their capacity to engage with government as they face more and more challenge in the on-going privatization of State Enterprises under the State Enterprise Capital Act. This situation is further worsened under a Military government which intensively enforces the public assembly law prohibiting workers to mobilize. Under these conditions, SERC will continue its task to proceed the organizing and educating workers in order to protect their basic labor rights.

Objectives
1. To build labour consciousness and participate in building a democratic society
2. To create the decent work environment for labour force in Thai society.
3. To strengthen SERC such that it has influence on labour relations with government and relevant State Enterprises.

Type of activities
1. seminars and campaigns: against privatization; Ratification of ILO Conventions 87&98, ILO 183
2. trade union education on: Union Finance and sustainability; Collective Bargaining and Negotiation Skills, Gender rights and women empowerment, leadership and union administration
3. Oganizing and membership recruitment: youth organizing; establishment of provincial branches;
4. Project monitoring and evaluations

Results achieved
1. Membership increased to 164,000 by 2017 from a base of 128,636 in 2014 an increase of 0f 20% or more than 35,000 from a target of 90,000 growth by 2018. Moreover, there are now 9 provincial branches which have been established in strategic regions outside Bangkok.

2. A civil network of NGOs and people’s organizations to protect state enterprises from being privatized is now established. The target is to formalize and institutionalize this network

3. CBA’s has been renewed and improved by all the 16 State enterprises with existing CBAs while there are 10 new CBAs being negotiated and another 2 more CBAs in process out of 45 State Enterprises unions affiliated to SERC. There is now an ongoing initiative to improve the CBA contents by making comparisons of best practices among the unions as well as learning from experiences abroad.

4. Four affiliates are now collecting percentage-based union dues as a result of the long running campaign to promote financial sustainability. The target is to add two more from the 3 unions already transformed

5. SERC now has 6 women in the National Executive Board Committee out of 21members while there are now 4 women Presidents of Local Affiliates out of 45 State Enterprises unions affiliated. SERC Policy is to have at least 30% Women in leadership positions.

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