Gig worker union proposed by Thai Sang Thai party

Thuntee Sukchotrat, the party’s digital transformation chief, gave a talk on gig workers at the “Thailand Metaverse Expo 2022” in Bangkok on Saturday.

Thuntee said he had invited freelancers in 11 occupations to vote to establish a union for gig workers at https://www.d-vote.com/thuntee/95.

He explained that the economic situation is worsening, with Thailand’s GDP growth now the lowest in Asean. The country was also lacking new investment and could not compete with neighbouring countries in exports.

He added that Thailand faces a labour shortage crisis as society ages, while people are being hit by rising manufacturing and living costs because of Covid-19 and high interest rates.

Small organisations and workers were the first to suffer, said Thuntee, so the solution was to support them by raising their income, reducing their costs, and empowering their stability through technology and innovations.

The gig economy will become more important as its strength is flexibility between employers and workers, he said. Gig workers can get jobs anywhere while companies do not have to hire them full-time.

However, gig workers face extra risks of unstable incomes, security and health benefits, he said. And many are not eligible to receive loans from banks or financial institutions.

Setting up a gig-worker labour union would provide them with welfare and benefits while also setting a minimum wage for each category to prevent undercutting, he said. It would also help in negotiating fair conditions with employers.

Moreover, a union would offer training to improve the skills and standard of the gig workforce, Thuntee said.

He said his party’s idea is to liberate and empower “small people” as they are the foundation of the economy.

Thai Sang Thai was formed late last year with former Pheu Thai chief strategist Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan as chairwoman.