Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Thailand (Ratification: 1969)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Thailand (Ratification: 2018)

Article 25 of the Convention. In previous comments the Committee noted allegations brought before the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities that children were bought and sold in Thailand for work in private houses, restaurants, factories and brothels, that shops had specialised in the sale of children and teenagers and child catchers and recruiters were operating in the country, and that, although laws for the protection of children existed, there was a lack of enforcement by the police.

The Government stated in its earlier reports that since 1978 tougher action and measures had been undertaken by the authorities with a view to eliminating any possible exploitation or illegal use of child labour: labour inspections and remedial action had been intensified, vocational training, especially for children from rural areas had been promoted through a child rehabilitation centre and the Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques, government agencies co-operated with private agencies and foundations in setting up a centre to monitor the problem of child labour and, in co-ordination with the Women and Child Division of the Department of Labour and the Police Department, to investigate cases; this action had resulted in several arrests and prosecutions; a factory owner had been sentenced to several years of imprisonment for illegal employment and abuse of child labour. The Government having provided only summary statistics on inspections, on the number of children in establishments covered by the inspections, on permits issued for the employment of children and on the advisory services to employers on legal aspects of child labour, the Committee requested the Government, in view of the serious and repeated allegations brought before the Sub-Commission and the Government's reference to several arrests and prosecutions, to supply more specific, detailed and complete information on the measures taken to ascertain that the Convention is observed in practice.

The Committee has noted the information provided by the Government in its report for the period ending 30 June 1987 and to the Conference Committee in 1987 on labour inspections and action taken by the Department of Labour in co-operation with the Police Department in a certain number of cases of child labour exploitation such as excessive hours of work - in some cases from 6 a.m. to midnight, with very little rest - illegal overtime and night work, no weekly rest, wages under the legal minimum, no protection or welfare benefits as provided by law, physical aggression, etc. The employers concerned have been sentenced or obliged to pay monetary penalties or outstanding wages; the Government has supplied the previously mentioned court decision sentencing an employer to three months' imprisonment. The Committee further notes the Government's indications concerning various rehabilitation measures and the role of the different aforementioned institutions. The Committee notes in particular that the centre to monitor the problem of child labour was replaced in February 1987 (Order of the Minister of Interior No. 84) by a joint committee of the private and public sector named "Child Labour Protection Committee", whose functions are among others to protect and eliminate the abuse of child labour and recommend ways and means to resolve problems of child labour within and outside establishments, undertake study and research on the problem of the use of child labour within and outside the industrial sector. The Committee has also taken note of the research summary and recommendations of a report drafted by the National Youth Bureau, Office of the Prime Minister, referred to in the ILO Conditions of Work Digest, Vol. 7, 1/1988. Among its findings the report states that most employers do not have the required permit to employ children, who often work in illegal and unhealthy conditions, are deprived of protection or welfare benefits. The Committee also notes from the Digest the information reported by the Women and Child Labour Division according to which the majority of child workers are from poor families in rural areas; they are exploited and face many physical and mental problems.

While noting the information provided by the Government on the inspections carried out and action taken against employers for child abuse, it appears to the Committee from the documents submitted with the Government's report that these measures are somewhat limited in scope and the pecuniary sanctions applied not commensurate to the physical and moral harm incurred by the children in comparison with the benefits which an employer can expect to gain by using illegal child labour. The Committee recalls that under Article 25 of the Convention the Government must ensure that penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced. The Committee recalls in this connection also that penalties should have a dual purpose, namely to severely punish the guilty and to act as a deterrent; if monetary penalties are provided for they should be adapted in order to ensure that they exert an effective influence. The Committee expresses the hope that the Government will provide fuller information on measures taken to ascertain that the Convention is applied in practice, including information on complaints of child abuse, on inspections carried out, prosecutions undertaken and penalties imposed, and copies of court decisions. The Committee requests in particular the Government to supply more detailed information on measures taken to ascertain that children are not sold and purchased by unscrupulous job-securing agents and to remove the children from night-spots and brothels and from illegal employment in private houses, hotels, restaurants and factories.

The Committee has noted with interest the information provided by the Government concerning rehabilitation measures. It addresses a request directly to the Government in this connection as well as on a certain number of other points. [The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 77th Session and to report in detail for the period ending 30 June 1990.]