Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1996, published 85th ILC session (1997)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Thailand (Ratification: 1969)

1. The Committee notes the Government's report and the information in reply to its previous request. It notes the information on the growth of employment during the first two years of implementation of the Seventh National Economic and Social Development Plan (1992-96), and the prospects for the development of employment in the informal sector. The Committee requests the Government to supply statistics as detailed and recent as possible on the situation and trends in employment, underemployment and unemployment.

2. The Committee recalls that under the terms of Article 2 of the Convention the measures to be adopted for attaining the employment objectives must be decided on and kept under review "within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy". It would be grateful if the Government would indicate in its next report any changes made in its employment policy in the light of the results obtained from the implementation of the Seventh National Development Plan.

3. The Committee notes that there was increased inequality in the distribution of the benefits of the rapid economic growth, to the detriment, in particular, of the population in rural areas, where the incidence of poverty is the highest. It notes the implementation of measures to promote industrial development in rural areas in the context of the decentralization policy. Please indicate the contribution made by these measures to the creation of employment in these areas, particularly for women workers and other particularly vulnerable categories of the population, and to the solution of the problem in question.

4. The Committee notes the information provided on certain aspects of macroeconomic policies which may have a major influence on the generation of employment. Please describe in particular the wages policy and its possible impact.

5. Article 1, paragraph 2, of the Convention. The Committee notes the emphasis placed on vocational training activities as a means of slowing down migration from rural areas and adapting the skills of workers to new technologies, particularly in the context of the Vocational Training Promotion Act, 1994. Please indicate the manner in which these activities are coordinated with prospective employment opportunities and their results. The Committee would like to have information on the role of the employment services and measures taken to reinforce their effectiveness.

6. Article 3. (i) Please describe the activities of the Advisory Council for National Labour Development, with an indication of the subjects it has examined, the opinions expressed and the manner in which they have been taken into account. (ii) Please indicate the arrangements made with a view to associating representatives of persons working in the rural sector and the informal sector in consultations on employment policies.

7. Part V of the report form. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided the information requested with regard to the action taken as a result of ILO technical cooperation activities. It recalls that the Government may seek the assistance of the multidisciplinary team in Bangkok in order to examine the means by which the Convention can be applied and for the preparation of reports.