Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

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

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. 1. Law enforcement. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the comments made by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) (now the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)) expressing concern about the persistence of trafficking in persons from and into Thailand. The Committee subsequently noted the adoption of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act B.E. 2551 (2008), as well as the detailed information provided by the Government which demonstrated the significant efforts it had made in the fight against trafficking. It also noted the observations submitted by the National Congress of Thai Labour (NCTL) stating that statistics had shown that the number of arrests and prosecutions related to trafficking was still low compared to the number of offenders.

The Committee notes the Government’s response that this is due to the fact that in each case of arrest and prosecution there is usually more than one suspect, as human trafficking cases are usually committed by organized crime or groups of perpetrators. The Committee also notes the Government’s statement that the implementation of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act involves the participation of government agencies, specialist groups and NGOs. The difficulties encountered by the competent authorities in implementing the Act include demands from victims to be immediately repatriated and a lack of experienced interpreters to overcome language barriers in the prosecution process. In order to strengthen law enforcement mechanisms, the Royal Thai Police has established strategies to prevent and combat human trafficking and has taken measures to ensure a more effective investigation system. These measures include collaboration between law enforcement officials and the Office of the Attorney-General and the targeting of particular locations for investigation, such as medium and small sized factories, karaoke pubs and brothels. The Committee notes that between 2010 and 2012 there were 162 arrests for human trafficking for the purpose of prostitution, 25 arrests for trafficking for the purpose of forced labour or service and two arrests for human trafficking for the purpose of slavery. While taking due note of the detailed information relating to arrests, the Committee notes an absence of information on how many of those arrested were convicted and penalized. However, it notes the copies of nine court decisions submitted with the Government’s report, relating to the application of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. These cases involved the prosecution of 18 defendants, resulting in 17 convictions and one acquittal, and the application of penalties of imprisonment for 15 defendants (ranging from two to ten years) as well as the application of fines in two cases. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to prevent, suppress and combat trafficking in persons, and to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard, including measures to provide appropriate training to law enforcement officials, border officials and the judiciary. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act in practice, including the number of arrests, as well as the number of prosecutions, convictions, and the specific penalties applied. It further requests the Government to continue to provide copies of court cases related to the application of the Act.

2. Protection and reintegration of victims of trafficking in persons. The Committee previously noted that the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act contained provisions relating to victim protection. The Government indicated that its labour inspection and labour protection practices included coordination with relevant government agencies, NGOs, international organizations and Thai embassies overseas to ensure trafficking victims’ protection, recovery and reintegration. Repatriation programmes had been arranged with Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and the Yunnan Province of China in order to develop effective and safe repatriation procedures.

The Committee notes the statement in the Government’s report that it has provided translation services at hotline centres in provinces with a large number of migrant workers. Additional training was also provided to education field officers, including with the agencies responsible for rehabilitation, support and repatriation so as to ensure integrated cooperation among the concerned agencies. The Government states that difficulties encountered in the application of the Convention included the limited budget to provide support to migrants during the investigation and prosecution process. The Government also states that arrested illegal migrant workers investigated by the Centre on Suppression, Arrest and Prosecution against Illegal Migrant Workers will be screened to assess whether they are victims of trafficking, and that any detected victims of trafficking will not be prosecuted. However, since the establishment of the Centre, no victims of trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation have been detected. The Committee requests the Government to take measures to strengthen mechanisms for the identification of victims of human trafficking, and to continue to provide information on any difficulties encountered in this regard. It also requests the Government to intensify its efforts to provide protection and assistance, including legal assistance, to victims of trafficking, and to provide information on the number of persons benefiting from these services.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25. Vulnerability of migrant workers to conditions of forced labour. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the addendum to the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants of 7 May 2011 (A/HRC/17/33/Add.1), which expressed concern regarding violations of the human rights of migrants in Thailand, in particular the negative impact of the National Verification (NV) registration process for migrant workers. According to the report, an estimated 1 million unregistered migrant workers were ineligible for the NV process and had been deemed as migrants with irregular status. These unregistered migrant workers could be asked to pay bribes ranging from 200 to 8,000 baht (THB) or more to the police in exchange for their freedom, either when stopped by the police or when in police custody. The Special Rapporteur expressed particular concern about the pattern of arbitrary arrest, violence and exploitation of migrants. This was exacerbated by the Prime Minister’s Order of 2 June 2010, which established a special centre to suppress, arrest and prosecute alien workers who are working underground, and an increasing number of cases of systematic abuse of official powers had been reported, “including the ‘sale’ of irregular migrants to various brokers who then transfer the migrants back to their worksites for fees or who ‘resell’ or traffic the individuals to various employers in the fishing and domestic industries”. The Committee also noted the 2011 report of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on trafficking of fishermen in Thailand (14 January 2011), indicating that labour recruitment processes for migrant workers in the fishing sector remained largely informal, often leading to abuse. Many fishermen were “sold” to fishing boat owners by brokers, having to work for long periods without receiving any wages in order to repay their debts and could not leave or escape since fishing boats tended to be offshore for long periods of time. According to the report, migrant fishermen, who are usually undocumented and unregistered, are often held on boats indefinitely, working and being forcibly transferred between fishing boats, under threats of being reported to immigration authorities. The Committee also noted the comments of the NCTL expressing concern about the lack of participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations in the implementation of the Convention in the country.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that employers’ and workers’ organizations have participated in activities concerning the application of the Convention, including through the working group on the resolution of child labour and forced labour in shrimp and agriculture. It also notes the Government’s indication that measures have been taken to protect the labour rights of migrant workers, especially those working in the fishery industry including the preparation to revise Ministerial Regulation No. 10 B.E. 2541 issued under the Labour Protection Act. The Government indicates that it has undertaken continuous efforts to systematically solve the problem of migrant workers from Myanmar, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Cambodia working illegally in Thailand, as well as taking measures to prevent these migrant workers from becoming victims of labour trafficking, including through developing MOUs with these countries. The Government indicates that it is carrying out labour inspections focusing on particular areas, such as small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as enterprises which fail to submit a report on employment and working conditions to the competent authority and enterprises which regularly employ migrant workers, especially in the fishing and related industries. These inspections were conducted with the cooperation of many agencies, such as the Royal Thai Navy, the Marine Police, the Marine Department as well as NGOs. The Government indicates that 5,400 labour inspections focusing on the protection of migrant workers, covering 408,000 workers, resulted in the identification of 117 cases of violations of the Labour Protection Act. The Government indicates that the Prime Minister issued Order No. 68/2555 of 13 March 2012 on the Centre on Suppression, Arrest and Prosecution against Illegal Migrant Workers in order to manage the Government’s response to migrant workers and labour trafficking. The Centre involves the participation from the Ministries of the Interior, Justice and Defence, as well as the Royal Thai Police, in investigating the employment of illegal migrant workers. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that it has taken measures to legalize the status of existing migrant workers, by allowing these workers to register with concerned authorities, obtain an identification number, and temporarily stay and work in Thailand while awaiting repatriation. Moreover, the Government indicates that in 2012, it implemented programmes on human trafficking for labour exploitation, including dissemination of information in languages understood by migrant workers, carrying out labour inspections in the fishing industry, conducting meetings with employers and workers and cooperation with the ILO within the framework of the Tripartite Action to Protect Migrant Workers from Labour Exploitation.

The Committee notes that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in its concluding observations of 15 November 2012, expressed concern at reports of abuse and exploitation of migrant workers, in particular those with irregular status (CERD/C/THA/CO/1, paragraph 22). The Committee recalls the importance of taking effective action to ensure that the system of the employment of migrant workers does not place the workers concerned in a situation of increased vulnerability, particularly where they are subjected to abusive employer practices, such as non-payment of wages, deprivation of liberty and physical and sexual abuse. Such practices might cause their employment to be transformed into situations that could amount to forced labour. Particularly, the itinerant nature of work in fishing and the long periods of time spent away from shore hamper the identification of migrant fishermen working under forced labour conditions. The Committee therefore once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that migrant workers, particularly those in the fishing industry, are fully protected from abusive practices and conditions that amount to the exaction of forced labour. It also requests the Government to further strengthen its law enforcement mechanisms, including measures to enforce anti-trafficking laws against those who target migrant fishermen, as well as to ensure that sufficiently effective penalties are applied to persons who subject these workers to conditions of forced labour. Moreover, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information in its next report on measures adopted specifically tailored to the difficult circumstances faced by migrant workers, including measures to prevent and respond to cases of abuse of migrant workers.