Labour factions escalate demands on May Day petitions
Labour Day Demands in Thailand: The Lowdown
labour unions across Thailand have outlined nine essential demands, slated for Labour Day on May 1, 2025. Let's delve into the pressing issues that these organisations are focusing on, as well as the current status of these demands.
First and foremost is the establishment of a risk insurance fund for employees. According to the National Congress of Thai Labour, instances of employers closing shop without compensating their staff necessitate this safety net. Take, for example, the case of Yarnapund Public Co Ltd, which allegedly failed to pay over 400 million baht in severance pay to its workers.
The demand for a risk insurance fund could be met through legislative amendments to existing labour laws, taking a portion of the employers' contributions to ensure security for employees should their workplaces shut down.
Another significant demand concerns overtime pay for monthly salaried employees. Presently, these employees receive just their regular salary for overtime work—a rate lower than that granted to daily-wage employees. To rectify this discrepancy, the labour unions aim to modify the Labour Ministry's Ministerial Regulation No. 7. The government is reportedly working on implementing these amendments by June 2025[1][2].
Beyond these key demands, labour groups are advocating for several other reforms, such as freedom of association and collective bargaining rights, tax exemptions for dismissed employees, inclusion of state enterprise employees in the social security system, and provision of a minimum pension and lifelong healthcare for retirees, among others. Additionally, stricter labour protection enforcement and enhanced worker safety standards have been added to the list of demands[1][4].
The groups also appealed for the creation of a task force to monitor the government's efforts to address these concerns.
In a separate address, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) voiced support for a broader range of workers, including informal workers, migrants, service sector employees, and gig economy workers, who continue to face issues like wage theft, exclusion from the social security system, and discrimination.
All in all, while specific legislative actions have not yet been confirmed, the labour movements' relentless push for these reforms indicates a stark focus on enhancing worker protections and rights in Thailand.
- To ensure employees are protected against financial risk in case of employer bankruptcy, labour unions are advocating for the creation of a severance pay insurance fund, which could be achieved through amendments to existing labour laws.
- In an attempt to level the playing field, labour unions are calling for a change in Ministerial Regulation No. 7 to provide overtime pay for monthly salaried employees, a benefit currently not available to them, at par with daily-wage workers.
- Beyond essential demands like risk insurance and fair overtime pay, labour groups are pushing for policy changes that include tax exemptions for dismissed employees, minimum pension, lifelong healthcare for retirees, and stricter enforcement of labour protection laws.
- Recognizing the challenges faced by a broader section of the workforce, the National Human Rights Commission voiced support for informal workers, migrants, service sector employees, and gig economy workers, addressing issues like wage theft, exclusion from social security, and discrimination.
- As the Labour Day approaching in 2025, a demand from labour unions is the formation of a task force to monitor the government's progress in addressing their diverse set of concerns, signalling a strong focus on promoting worker protections and rights in the political and general news landscape of Thailand.
