Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Thailand (Ratification: 2004)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy, labour inspection and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted that child labour was a problem in the country in practice and that, in rural areas, children worked in sugar cane, cassava and corn plantations, as well as in rice paddies. Children were also employed in fisheries, shrimp farms and seafood processing under conditions which are often hazardous. In urban areas, children worked in sectors such as restaurants, markets, street vending, construction and entertainment. The Committee noted the Government’s statement that it had continued to implement preventive measures to address child labour, including the establishment of a child labour network, as well as of the National Committee on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour chaired by the Prime Minister, aimed at eliminating child labour through efficient policies and measures. However, the Committee noted that the labour inspectorate often failed to detect cases of children involved in hazardous work, despite indications that such cases exist.

The Committee notes that, in its report submitted under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), the Government indicates that the Ministry of Labour, through the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare (DLPW) conducted a number of training sessions to enhance the capacity of labour inspectors. The Government also states that each year a regular plan for labour inspection is established with a focus on child labour in industries such as shrimp processing, sugar cane, and garments as well as small enterprises or clandestine establishments in villages or communities located “faraway”. In addition, the Committee notes that, according to Thailand’s Country Report on Anti-Human Trafficking Response (1 January–31 December 2016), submitted to the United Nations Action for Cooperation against Trafficking in Persons (Thailand’s Anti-Trafficking Country Report), a National Policy and Plan to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labour for 2015–2020 (NPP-WFCL II) outlines ways to effectively and successfully eradicate the worst forms of child labour. In this framework, the Ministry of Labour has begun its collaboration with the ILO and Thailand’s National Statistics Office (NSO) on a 21-month project to conduct Thailand’s National Working Children Survey for 2017. The same report reveals that, according to Ministry of Labour estimates collected in cooperation with the NSO, in December 2015, there was an estimated total of 10.88 million children aged 5–17 years, of which 6.4 per cent were working (692,819) and 2.9 per cent were considered in child labour (approximately 315,520).

However, the Committee notes that Thailand’s Anti-Trafficking Country Report also indicates that during the year 2016, the DPLW identified only 51 cases of child labour, of which 23 cases involved children under 15 years of age and 28 cases involved children between 15 and 18 years of age. Thirteen cases have been prosecuted with fines totalling 582,000 Thai baht (US$16,629). The Committee observes with concern that the number of cases of child labour found by the DPLW is extremely low compared to the number of children considered to be in child labour. Therefore, while taking due note of the steps taken, the Committee requests that the Government pursue and strengthen its efforts to identify and combat child labour, including through the NPP-WFCL II. It once again requests the Government to continue providing information on the steps taken to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate and of the relevant law enforcement agencies, as well as of the child labour monitoring system in this regard. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the number and nature of violations detected and penalties applied in child labour cases, focused on detection in agricultural plantations, fisheries, restaurants, markets, construction sites, and other occupational sectors where large numbers of children are employed. Lastly, the Committee asks that the Government provide the results of the 2017 National Working Children Survey.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.