State Unions Discuss How They Could Win Over The Public By Improving Services

[webfact]

State unions discuss how to better services

PRAVIT ROJANAPHRUK

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Leaders of state enterprise unions met yesterday to brainstorm on how they could win over the public by improving services and resist the trend of privatisation.

They expressed concern that the public often views labour unions as preoccupied with two issues - higher wages and staging strikes - while in fact they see their role as the guardian of workers' rights and public utilities.

Veteran labour activist Sakdina Chatrakul na Ayudhya said trade and state enterprise unions must go out of their way to visibly contribute to society through activities or campaigns that are not limited to issues of their own immediate interest.

The situation is dire, with unionised workers shrinking from 3 per cent of the labour force a decade or so ago to a mere 1.47 per cent or 505,000 members.

Savit Kaew-wan, leader of the State Rail Enterprise Union, called on his peers to help improve the standard of public services and cajoled the government to support such a move. Union leaders should convey the importance of social welfare and ensure the public gets access to basic public utilities, he said.

Union leaders and labour activists should organise more unions, as membership continues to fall.

"It's arguably the lowest [percentage] in the world now," he said. "How can we face the world then?"

Sawanee Chumchalieo, an official of the Foundation for Consumers, said many of the poor services provided by state enterprises ended up being taken up by the foundation after complaints were made, such as Bangkok bus drivers driving recklessly and interprovincial coaches showing violent movies during trips.

"Bus passengers ought to be the masters of their own lives and not have to put their lives in the hands of [such] drivers," said Sawanee, whose foundation has helped take many such cases to court.

People who have problems with services provided by state enterprises should lodge a complaint with the foundation instead of merely whining by themselves as "one complaint lodged is better than 1,000 self complaints".

The foundation is also proposing that the government set up a 24-hour call centre for bus driver complaints as eight people die from car accidents on average.

A labour leader confessed that it was unfortunate that consumers had to turn to the foundation instead of taking their grievances directly to the state enterprise that provided the poor service as well as to its union. More effort should be made to make unions more relevant.

-- The Nation 2012-07-24

[thequietman]

so let me get this straight.

they think that if they start doing their jobs properly like they are paid to do, then this will get public support?

This could backfire on them. if the public realises that this is the standard of work they are supposed to have been doing all along and they havent for 30 years, then they might be a bit pissed to say the least. although we all know the attention span and memory of your average thai isnt beyound yesterday....... so it might work.

[Unkomoncents]

It's hard to imagine an over-bloated, corrupt-to-the-bone Thai bureaucracy like the SRT outdoing the BTS or any of the other public/private Build-Operate-Transfer projects in the Kingdom. Not thrilled to admit it, but it seems like private is the only way to go in Thailand.

[jonb1942]

They could reinstate "happy hour"

[connda]

It's called implementing a customer service model -- highly unlikely here in the LOS. It's not advertised as The Land of Service!

Edited July 24, 2012 by connda

[belg]

unions in european countries were / are the cause that so many factories relocate to cheaper non union-maffia-ised countries...

unions were great 100 years ago when people worked like slaves, but now unions tend to think the company they are in, belongs to them in stead of the factory owners

[khunken]

unions in european countries were / are the cause that so many factories relocate to cheaper non union-maffia-ised countries...

unions were great 100 years ago when people worked like slaves, but now unions tend to think the company they are in, belongs to them in stead of the factory owners

Disagree entirely.

Unions did not cause the Euro crisis - crap governments were the main culprits, most of them right-wing. The other culprits in the Euro & EU were/are unregulated banks feeding a property bubble which, as usual, burst.

Both Thailand & the EU need trade unions to play their part (just as in Germany) in both insuring their company/enterprise is properly run & pays a decent wage (& not hire illegals for peanuts & mistreat them).

[Thai at Heart]

Amazing logic.

[h90]

so let me get this straight.

they think that if they start doing their jobs properly like they are paid to do, then this will get public support?

This could backfire on them. if the public realises that this is the standard of work they are supposed to have been doing all along and they havent for 30 years, then they might be a bit pissed to say the least. although we all know the attention span and memory of your average thai isnt beyound yesterday....... so it might work.

well trains, water and electric works OK in Thailand in compare with other countries. But of course there is a lot space to make it better.

state owned enterprises can work better than private one, as they don't need to make profit and can act much more in long time views.

but they can also work a lot worse than private one as there is no pressure from an owner.

It depends on the acting persons.

[jerrysteve]

More money would work..more disposable income would work...which equals more buying power..

Nothing more to discuss, coz thats the bottom linE!!!!!!!