BANGKOK, Sept 7 (TNA) – Dismissed Triumph garment workers sought help from Thailand's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) after their labour union protest leaders were issued with arrest warrants.
Representatives from the Triumph International (Thailand) labour union, led by Jitra Kochadech, a union committee member, submitted a letter to Amara Pongsapich, chair of the National Human Rights Commission, together with evidence including a CD of video clips and photographs of the laid-off workers’ protest at Parliament and Government House on August 27.
Ms Jitra said the protest led to its three key leaders – Sunthorn Boonyod, Boonrawd Saiwong and herself -- to be issued arrest warrants.
As the demonstration at both places was peaceful and aimed only at submitting a letter to concerned officials, she asked the Commission to consider whether the arrest warrant was a violation of human rights and a use of excessive power by officials.
The union members wanted NHRC to help them to have the arrest warrant revoked and to investigate whether the dismissal of workers was to destroy the union, following the relocation of its production base to a site with lower labour costs and without a labour union, Ms Jitra said.
She added that the union will also file the complaint at the Administrative Court and that it wants the human rights office to help facilitate the legal process.
Ms Amara said she is considering using her position to provide bail for the three key leaders, and will push for the issue to be probed at the next meeting of the Human Rights Sub-Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as the problem affects the public at large.
Body Fashion (Thailand), a Triumph production unit, announced the layoff of 1,959 workers in late June, an action which took effect at the end of August. According to the union, the dismissal accounts for 50 per cent of workers in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli plant, with most of those laid off being union members. (TNA)
General News : Last Update : 19:55:48 7 September 2009 (GMT+7:00)
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