Delegation to US works to upgrade Thailand's labour status

[webfact]

Delegation to US works to upgrade Thailand's labour status
PETCHANET PRATRUANGKRAI
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- THAILAND has high hopes that its efforts to improve labour rights will be reflected in the next revision of the United States' "Trafficking in Persons" (TIP) report, which is due in May.

To publicise Thailand's attempts to clean up its act and improve labour standards in the fisheries, foods, and other industries, eight government agencies as well as Thai exporters will group together for missions to the US and the European Union.

Bhumindr Harinsut, vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said that during the past year, state agencies and private enterprises had been struggling to work on labour issues and to show the world that the country is highly concerned about labour problems.

"We [the private sector] hope that the US and the EU will see our strong attempts to solve the problems. Our major trading partners are still confident in our manufacturing and labour standards," he said.

The US is scheduled to release its revisions on the TIP report in late May.

Bhumindr expects that US firms will continue to import Thai products. To make sure of that, eight government agencies will set up a mission in Boston this month to publicise the Kingdom's ambition to improve its labour reputation.

Collaborating in this mission are the ministries of Labour, Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, Social Development and Human Security, Justice, Commerce, and Public Health, as well as the Royal Thai Police and the Board of Trade of Thailand. Some Thai trade associations will also participate.

A similar mission will be set up in Brussels, headquarters of the European Union, next month.

While in the US, the Thai delegation will also join "Seafood Expo North America 2015" from today through Wednesday to promote Thailand's activities on solving labour problems. And while it is in Brussels, the team will join the "Seafood Expo Global" and "Seafood Processing Global" events from April 21-23.

Bhumindr said the team would also meet with government agencies and lobbyists to showcase Thailand's efforts during the past year.

However, if this effort does not pay off, Thailand could be kept in the third tier of the TIP report, categorised as weak at solving labour problems. If so, Thailand's foods and fisheries industries could be banned or sanctioned by the US government. The US could also cut its support in dealing with trade-related issues, Bhumindr said.

According to the chamber, export of Thai fisheries products was worth about Bt100 billion, and its volume 560,000 tonnes, last year.

As of last month, about 1.62 million foreigners were working in the Kingdom.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Delegation-to-US-works-to-upgrade-Thailands-labour-30255895.html


-- The Nation 2015-03-13

[NeverSure]

Where I come from we call this "All hat and no cattle."

[chooka]

Yea and I bet they say we arrested 12 government and military officials, show them the newspaper which gives no names or any actual evidence that this wasn't just bullcrap propaganda. See we fixed it and even arrested 2 nobodies for a little extra, here are thier names and pics. I bet they have even already prepared the media release with a statement from the US saying that they are happy with Thailand and now is all perfect.

[FireMedic]

Yesterday I was behind one of those pickups with the wire cage in the back and it was slammed packed with people. It was secured with a big padlock on the door but I'm sure it was there to keep them safe.

[LuckyLew]

I would suggest the leave the people from the fisheries and food behind

Lot of bad news about them lately, cannery row, contaminated water and the food poisoning in Australia

[Balance]

Sending a delegation to the U.S. "to show that we are very concerned about the problems" just will not cut it.

Piecing together the reports over the last several months, there seems to real structural problem that maybe cannot be solved. The root cause is that the greed driving the fishing industry has so depleted near by fishing grounds that the boats have to go as far as the East African coast. Combine this with very poor pay that will not come close to supporting a family, dangerous working conditions, long hours, and guess what: NO ONE WANTS THE JOBS. So, what's left; slaves and prisoners.

Of course, the solution, letting the closer fishing grounds recover, takes years and playing the long game has never been a strong suit of Thai businesses. And even if a recovery took place, even thinking about sustainable fishing regulations is joke.

Bottom line: the U.S. and EU do not care about Thailand's problems that they created themselves. They care about results.

[klauskunkel]

eight government agencies as well as Thai exporters will group together for missions to the US and the European Union

I wanna see their work permits for US and Europe

[Soutpeel]

Yesterday I was behind one of those pickups with the wire cage in the back and it was slammed packed with people. It was secured with a big padlock on the door but I'm sure it was there to keep them safe.

New Farang's to the slaughter being delivered to their Isaan teeraks ?

[Lupatria]

...eight government agencies as well as Thai exporters will group together for missions to the US and the European Union.

That's how you keep your job and pass it to your relatives for the next 100 years.

[Strangebrew]

Better have proper work permit to do that.

[Emster23]

"the Kingdom's ambition to improve its labour reputation." Amend practices, cover ups, corruption and slavery and then reputation will improve. Actions speak louder than words. They don't seem to understand that.

[Srikcir]

Good luck to the Thai mission. It might have been more opportune and effective to have held such a meeting with US Under Secretary for Asiam Affairs Mr. Murphy when he was in Thailand in January/February. But the regime chose during Murphy's trip to ATTACK the US for its open criticism on the Junta's lack of progress on democracy. Now armed with powerpoint presentations, the Junta will attempt to turn its self-imposed isolation from the US back into a trade partner.

The saying "look before you leap" might be useful to remember for the Junta in the future when it comes to interantional politics. Hopefully, the US will show its political maturity and keep issues of politics separate from human trafficking when it meets the Thai delegation. Maybe Prayut could request to address the US Senate like Netanyahu to make Americans understand the Junta's policies on Everything.

[AloisAmrein]

Efforts are not enough, we want to see results.