From: kamol@munnari.oz.AU (Kamol Hengkietisak)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.thai
Subject: Sept 3: Labour leaders petition PM
Date: 3 Sep 1992 16:03:09 +1000
Organization: Mail/News gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: munnari.oz.au

THE State Enterprises Relations Confederation (SERC) yesterday 
appealed to the Government to review its policy on a wide range of 
issues, including recent increases in public utility service 
rates.
     The demands were contained in an open letter, addressed to 
Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun, which was submitted at 
Government House where the Premier and labour leaders met for two 
hours yesterday.
     The labour leaders made no threat on any retaliation action 
if their demands were not met.
     Observers said the state enterprise labour sector's influence 
had vastly diminished after their right to strike was abolished 
following last year's coup.
     A total of 378 labour leaders, academics and labour experts 
as well as employers' representatives were invited to Government 
House to listen to the Government's election policy.
     In the letter, the SERC asked for increases in electricity 
rates (which came into effect this month) and bus fares to be 
reconsidered.
     The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand is still 
running a profitable operation, and increasing the electricity 
rate will go against the Government's policy of setting up an 
agency to service the people and not to make profits.
     The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority had indirectly increased 
the bus fare by repainting its old buses so that the higher fare 
can be charged to passengers. Therefore it is inappropriate for 
the agency to increase the fare yet again to try to reduce its 
operational loss.
     The BMTA charged two baht on its old blue/white buses and 
three baht on the new red/cream buses. Many claimed the agency 
repainted the blue/white buses with red/cream colours so that it 
could charge commuters the rate used for the real red/cream buses.
     Since September 1, the fare on the two types of buses has 
gone up across the board by .50 baht. In its letter the SERC 
demanded that the increase be scrapped.
     The state enterprises' workers grouping also demanded that 
the Government give the country's youth equal opportunities in 
compulsory primary education through a state-subsidised lunch 
programme, clothing and writing equipment.
     The SERC criticised the Government for giving preferential 
treatment to only the business group.
     The Government's decision to scrap the oil fund was one 
example which was beneficial to merchants at the cost of 
individual oil consumers, who have to shoulder an extra financial 
burden whenever world oil prices rise.
     The Government should instead initiate a policy of allowing 
farmers to buy oil at low prices, because they are a low income 
group.
     The Government's decision to withdraw state enterprise 
workers from the Social Security fund has also jeopardised the 
fund's potential as the country's savings source, which can be 
withdrawn for economic development and to help those worse off 
socially and financially.
     The SERC also branded as a lie the Government's claim during 
an international labour meeting in Bangkok last year that Thai 
state workers were entitled to the right to form a federation and 
to take part in international labour activities.
     It claimed the Interior Ministry had issued a "secret order" 
banning state enterprise employees from being members of labour 
unions, both inside and outside the country, contradicting the 
international human rights principle.
     The Government, the SERC charged, also paid little attention 
to the safety of the life and property of its people. It cited the 
case of former Labour Congress of Thailand leader Thanong Po-an, 
who went missing in June last year following the February 23 coup.
     The Government had only set up a committee to follow up the 
case in the middle of last month, it continued.
     The case has given ammunition to the United States to cut the 
trade privileges it is granting to Thailand through the 
Generalised System of Preferences.
     Prime Minister Anand, in his speech to the workers, insisted 
that he and his government has tried to help solve the labourers' 
problem with sincerity and responsibility.
     As a government, Mr Anand said that he had to look at the 
interests of all parties concerned, and he cannot get everyone to 
agree with all the issues the Government did.
     He said all parties must cooperate to help solve problems 
with sincerity and without any prejudice against one another.
     "The weak point of the labour movement in the past was that 
it became a political tool for one party or another to pursue its 
own interests. I want to see the labour movement as a legitimate 
body and standard," the Premier said.
     He admitted, however, that the workers' voice must also be 
heard.
     "We have to admit that in the past many businessmen and 
industrialists also exploited the workers to reap more profits, 
without any sense of responsibility for society. These kinds of 
people still exist. They still manage to manipulate the system 
which the Government set up, so as to exploit child and female 
labour in their own interest," Mr Anand said.
     During his meeting with the group the Prime Minister also 
urged that the labourers vote good people into Parliament.