Interim Report - Report No 58, 1962

Case No 202 (Thailand) - Complaint date: 08-JUN-59 - Closed

1. 475. This case, already considered by the Committee at its meetings on 17 and 18 February 1960, 20 May 1960, 8 November 19603 and 23 February 1961, was further examined by the Committee at its meeting on 30 May 1961, when it submitted an interim report in paragraphs 135 to 140 of its 56th Report, which was approved by the Governing Body at its 149th Session (June 1961).

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 476. Paragraph 140 of the Committee's 56th Report reads as follows:
2. 140. In these circumstances the Committee, noting the Government's statement that the new Labour Act has been finalised and will be submitted to the Legislative Assembly as soon as possible and that judicial proceedings against the former trade unionists who were arrested continue with due attention and expedition, recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to express the hope that now that the text has been finalised the legislation in question will be enacted at the earliest possible date and will give full effect to the principles enunciated in paragraph 137 above, and to request the Government to keep the Governing Body informed of the progress made in this connection;
   • (b) to reaffirm once again the importance which the Governing Body has always attached to the principle of prompt and fair trial by an independent and impartial judiciary in all cases, including cases in which trade unionists are charged with political or criminal offences which the Government considers have no relation to their trade union functions, and to request the Government to continue to furnish as a matter of urgency, having regard to the said principle, and, bearing in mind the fact that the trade unionists concerned in this case were arrested as long ago as October 1958, information as to the legal or judicial proceedings taken in respect of the persons referred to above and as to the results of those proceedings.
3. 477. Paragraph 137 of the Committee's 56th Report, referred to in paragraph 140 (a) thereof cited above, reads as follows:
4. 137. In paragraph 158 of its 52nd Report, referred to in paragraph 162 (a) thereof cited above, the Committee emphasised the importance that it has always attached to the fact that the right to bargain freely with employers with respect to conditions of work constitutes an essential element in freedom of association and to the principle that " trade unions should have the right, through collective bargaining or other lawful means, to seek to improve the living and working conditions of those whom the trade unions represent, and that the public authorities should refrain from any interference which would restrict this right or impede the lawful exercise thereof ".
5. 478. This decision of the Governing Body was brought to the notice of the Government of Thailand by a letter dated 27 June 1961.
6. 479. In a letter dated 1 September 1961 the Government states that there is no substantial progress to report on at present in addition to that contained in its letter dated 26 April 1961.
7. 480. In its letter dated 26 April 1961, as indicated in paragraph 138 of the Committee's 56th Report, the Government stated that the new Labour Act had been finalised and would be submitted to the Legislative Assembly as soon as possible, while judicial proceedings against the former trade unionists who were arrested were continuing " with due attention and expedition ".

The Committee's recommendations

1. 481. In these circumstances the Committee, noting with regret the Government's statement that it has no further substantial progress to report, recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to express the hope that every effort will now be made to submit the text of the proposed new labour legislation to the Legislative Assembly at the earliest possible date and that it will give full effect to the principles enunciated in paragraph 477 above, and to request the Government to keep the Governing Body informed of the progress made in this connection;
   • (b) to reaffirm once again the importance which the Governing Body has always attached to the principle of prompt and fair trial by an independent and impartial judiciary in all cases, including cases in which trade unionists are charged with political or criminal offences which the Government considers have no relation to their trade union functions;
   • (c) to draw the attention of the Government to its view that a situation in which proceedings have been completed in the cases of only four of the 19 trade unionists arrested as long ago as October 1958 is not compatible with the generally accepted principle enunciated in subparagraph (b) above, and to request the Government to furnish as a matter of urgency, having regard to the said principle, information as to the legal or judicial proceedings taken in respect of the trade unionists in question.