Thailand

Labour Behind the Label reports:

"The trial of Thai labour rights activist and journalist Somyot Prueksakasemsuk started on 21st November 2011, following seven months in detention on charges of lèse majesté. If found guilty he could face 30 years' imprisonment."

And asks us to take action today to call for Somyot's release...

There are 3 million Burmese workers living in Thailand. The MAP Foundation exists to support and empower them in the face of degradation and abuse.

Over the week of International Women's Day MAP Foundation organised a gathering for migrant and refugee women from Burma in Chiang Mai, Thailand, supported with a modest contribution from No Sweat.

Many of the women who attended work in sweatshop conditions in the garment factories in Mae Sot.

To the great surprise and delight of the participants a video was shown of a personal message of solidarity for International Womens Day from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

See the full video, with English subtitles, and visit the MAP Foundation at http://www.mapfoundationcm.org/map_2010/multimedia/videos.html?task=vide...

It has recently come to light that more than 500 Thais were duped by false promises of wellpaid jobs abroad toward the end of last year.

Most victims were approached by "agents" who charged fees in exchange for jobs
abroad with inflated wages - for jobs that didn't exist at all.

Knowing they would have to sneak illegally into other countries to get the
jobs, many were willing to pay the fees to the agents butmost victims didn't end up travelling at all, those did were forced to work as slaves or were grossly exploited by their employers.

Word from Thailand as our man in Chiang Mai, Jay Kerr, begins working with the MAP Foundation, supporting some of the most vulnerable migrant workers in the world.

A protest of 700 Burmese migrant workers at the V&K Pineapple Canning Company Factory in Ratchaburi, Thailand ends after reaching an agreement between the employer and the migrant workers.

The protest started on Monday last week when workers became outraged after a worker was beaten by a Thai foreman first in a market and then back in his room. When a Burmese interpreter came to clear up the situation, he too was beaten.

Laid off Triumph International union members have transformed their action camp into a sewing factory producing panties under the label “Try Arm”. Since October 16, 2009 hundreds of workers have occupied the grounds of the Ministry of Labour to protest mass dismissals by Triumph International subsidiary Body Fashion Thailand.

From Clean Clothes Campaign:

Workers were confronted with police using a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD)

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.

Take action now to prevent their arrest at:
http://www.cleanclothes.org/leaders-of-peaceful-protest-against-triumph-...

INN: On Friday 28 August, the Dusit Police Bureau issued a warrant for the arrest of the three leaders of Triumph International Thailand Labor Union (TITLU)’s protest action in front of Parliament, which occurred from 10am to 6pm on Thursday August 27th, 2009. According to police, the protest inconvenienced officials working inside the building throughout the day. Police Lt. General Worapong Shivapreecha, the Bureau head, named Sunthorn Boonyod (50 years old), Bunrawd Saiwong (33 years old), and Jitra Kotchadej (34 years old) as offenders listed in the warrant. He announced that these protest leaders had been charged with creating assemblies of 10 persons or more, inciting unrest in the city, and refusing to end their disruptive protest actions at the request of the police (Criminal Law Codes 215-216).

Lingerie producer blames global recession for factory closures

The German/Swiss lingerie multinational Triumph seems to use the pretext of the global economic recession to close down factories in the Philippines and Thailand. A number of these closures are irregular.

On Nov 27 a labour court in Bangkok gave Body Fashion Thailand, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Triumph International, the green light in its effort to dismiss union president Jitra Kotshadej.

The workers at Body Fashion Thailand (BFT), Triumph International’s Thai subsidiary, are responsible for sewing the underwear and bras that bear Triumph’s name. They are proud of their work—and their union. So when their union president, Jitra Kotshadej, was unfairly dismissed in July, they went on strike to demand justice. While Ms. Kotshadej awaits a hearing of her case in court, members of the Triumph International Thailand Labour Union went back to work.

Triumph International Fails to Credibly Address the Violation of Basic
Human Rights at its Thai Subsidiary http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/08-09-23.htm

From July 30 to September 13 more than 2,000 workers were on strike to
demand reinstatement of their union president, Ms. Jitra Kotshadej, at
the Thai subsidiary of underwear giant Triumph International.

Body Fashion Thailand, a subsidiary of Triumph International, has fired a union leader for wearing a political t-shirt. Thousands of workers are protesting her unjust dismissal.

Take action now. Go to http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/08-08-25.html#action

TELL TRIUMPH THAT FASHION REQUIRES FREEDOM: REINSTATE THAI UNION
PRESIDENT NOW!
Body Fashion Thailand, a subsidiary of Triumph International, has fired
a union leader for wearing a political t-shirt. Thousands of workers are
protesting her unjust dismissal.

ILO REPORT
Migrant children suffering

Children from nearby countries have replaced locals in Thai sweatshops