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Thai Union Group in collaboration with the Labour Rights Promotion Network Foundation (LPN) recently organised an educational-rights workshop for TU employees in order to create awareness about their children’s rights with regards to education and ensure their understanding about the school enrolment process in Thailand.

Thiraphong Chansiri, president and CEO of Thai Union Group, said the company believed that education is the foundation of success in life. For this reason, TU has invested in childcare centres to facilitate quality pre-school education and provide a safe environment for Thai and migrant children in Samut Sakhon.

It has established two Thai Union Child Care Centres, at Wat Si Suttharam School and Wat Sirimongkol School, and it plans to open three more over the next two years. Each school now houses more than 200 children.

As many migrant workers are uncertain about the education procedures in Thailand and often encourage their children to work to provide extra income, a large number of migrant children lack access to formal schooling. This deprives many children of their rights to education in Thailand. TU says it recognises this problem and has attempted to address it through the initiation of a training programme for its migrant employees.

LPN has supported the TU programme through the provision of facilitators who provided information to employees about their children’s rights to access the Thai schooling system, letting them know how to enrol their children, and real-life stories about how children are lured into forced labour if they are left to their own devices.

Sompong Srakaew, director of the LPN Foundation, said Thai Union had long been collaborating with LPN and had shown commitment to driving positive change with regards to labour issues and ensuring the prevention of child labour.

“Thailand has improved in rankings on the handling of child labour in the eyes of the international community, but we cannot be complacent. There is a large number of migrant children in Samut Sakhon who are at risk for falling prey to child labour, partly because some parents want their children to work in order to provide extra income.

“Therefore, in order to drive positive change, improve the overall quality of life for migrant workers and their families and ensure the complete eradication of child labour, awareness and understanding must be created among parents of migrant children about their basic human rights and rights to education and healthcare.

“Such a programme is already being implemented by Thai Union and looks set to be the best practice for positive change and image building at both the provincial and national levels in the near future.”

Bimonthly sessions of the employee education rights training programme will be held to make sure that all migrant employees in all Thai Union facilities are fully informed about these issues. To date, more than 200 migrant employees have participated in the programme.

Honda sponsors cold-weather aid scheme

The Honda Khiang Khang Thai Fund (HKKT Fund) under the Honda Thailand Foundation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), has announced the “HKKT Fund – MOI Cold Relief 2015-2016” programme to donate winter necessities worth Bt15.09 million.

A Honda caravan will hit the road this week to distribute relief aid to those who live in the 11 provinces in the Northern and Northeastern regions of Thailand.

Pitak Pruittisarikorn, managing director of the Honda Khiang Khang Thai Fund, said the fund would like to thank the MOI and DDPM for supporting it and being great partners in its activities.

“We are contributing 60,000 ponchos, 30,000 children’s jackets, and 30,000 pairs of children’s socks, worth Bt15.09 million in total, to be delivered by our caravan travelling to 11 provinces in the Northern and Northeastern regions, namely Chiang Rai, Phayao, Nan, Phrae, Uttaradit, Udon Thani, Nong Khai, Bueng Kan, Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom and Mukdahan, from now until November 13.

“Over the past three years that we have assisted Thai people in this project, we have offered Bt60.71 million worth of winter necessities,” he said.