Govt seeks better ranking from US on labour

However, the Foreign Trade Department admits that it may difficult to win an upgrade quickly, noting that many countries such as Brazil had to try for several years before succeeding.

The US State Department has in the past conducted an annual revision of its “Trafficking in Persons” (TIP) report, in which case it would be done in September next year. In an effort to get a better ranking in that revision, the Thai government will submit supporting documentation and reports by March. 

However, the US has recently announced that the TIP revisions will be done every two years instead of annually, so Thailand may need to wait until 2016 before seeing an upgrade, said Panjit Pisawong, deputy director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s Foreign Trade Department. In June Thailand was downgraded to the lowest level in the TIP report, risking sanctions by the United States. The US accused Thailand of failing to tackle modern-day slavery. Thailand had been on the Tier 2 “watch list” for four years for poor law enforcement before it dropped to Tier 3. 

The Kingdom was accused of failing to do enough to prevent trafficking of people to work in the sex trade, while poor labour practices were allegedly tolerated by producers of shrimp, fish, garments and sugar cane. 

However, Panjit said that as the US has been closely monitoring Thailand’s attempts to solve such problems, its government should not ban imports of Thai products. Thailand has also continued to work closely with private-sector importers to show its sincerity and how well it treats labourers. The Thai Frozen Foods Association also flew representatives to the US to meet importers and supermarket operators in an effort to persuade them to continue importing Thai food products.

She said the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and other relevant agencies were compiling reports about the labour situation in Thailand for submission to the US State Department next March for consideration on whether to upgrade the Kingdom’s status.

She said the government had tried hard to solve labour problems. The military’s ruling National Council for Peace and Order has been highly concerned about the issue, and ordered the establishment of one-stop services to register foreign workers while monitoring employers’ practices. 

The government has also encouraged fishing boats to register, and regularly sends officials to inspect boats to ensure proper labour practices, Panjit said.

Moreover, private enterprises, particular small and medium-sized businesses, have drawn up codes of conduct to ensure fair practices for both Thai and foreign employees, she said.

Panjit added that these efforts were not just to get upgraded in the next TIP report, but also to show the world that this country has not breached human rights. Thai enterprises in many industries, particular fishery, have also tried to upgrade their labour standards to boost confidence among their importers, she claimed.