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14 August, 2005ICEM news release No. 13/2004
T he 20-million-member ICEM called on the Thailand government of Prime Minister Thaskin Sinawatra to hold a citizens referendum to determine if the electric utility EGAT, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, should be privatised or not.
In a letter to the Prime Minister last week, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs said, "Mr Prime Minister, we would ask you to respond positively to the call for a referendum on privatisation. We urge you to halt any further unilateral government action and engage in a transparent process involving social dialogue with the trade union and civic bodies as a matter of urgency."
The ICEM has staunchly stood behind its Thai Union affiliate, EGAT-LU, to oppose privatizing the utility, contending that privatisation of a country's essential services such as electricity or water inevitably lead to price hikes for consumers. EGAT-LU, representing some 27,500 workers at the utility, has been the lead union in rallying farmers, citizens' groups and some 40 other labour unions affiliated with the nation's State Enterprise Unions' Federation against a hurried initial public offering of EGAT on the Thailand Stock Exchange.
The ICEM welcomed the Thai government's announcement on 1 March that it would delay the IPO, originally scheduled to occur in May, and also commended Prime Minister Sinawatra for admitting 6 March in a radio address that he had pushed the electric privatisation too fast without adequate explanation to the general public.
Some 16 consecutive days of street protests, including strikes by EGAT workers at the utility's headquarters in Bang Kruai, Nonthaburi, no doubt convinced Sinawatra that the rush to privatisation did not have public support. Higgs said that the Prime Minister should now meet leaders of EGAT-LU and other concerned stakeholders, and then put in effect to have a national referendum over the matter.
Last week's ICEM letter was the third such letter the global trade federation has written to Prime Minister Sinawatra over the issue of privatising the electric industry. The ICEM had also issued a worldwide call to its affiliates in the energy and electric industries to express their views to the Thai government over privatisation. Some 25 unions responded by registering their protests against the IPO.
In a letter to the Prime Minister last week, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs said, "Mr Prime Minister, we would ask you to respond positively to the call for a referendum on privatisation. We urge you to halt any further unilateral government action and engage in a transparent process involving social dialogue with the trade union and civic bodies as a matter of urgency."
The ICEM has staunchly stood behind its Thai Union affiliate, EGAT-LU, to oppose privatizing the utility, contending that privatisation of a country's essential services such as electricity or water inevitably lead to price hikes for consumers. EGAT-LU, representing some 27,500 workers at the utility, has been the lead union in rallying farmers, citizens' groups and some 40 other labour unions affiliated with the nation's State Enterprise Unions' Federation against a hurried initial public offering of EGAT on the Thailand Stock Exchange.
The ICEM welcomed the Thai government's announcement on 1 March that it would delay the IPO, originally scheduled to occur in May, and also commended Prime Minister Sinawatra for admitting 6 March in a radio address that he had pushed the electric privatisation too fast without adequate explanation to the general public.
Some 16 consecutive days of street protests, including strikes by EGAT workers at the utility's headquarters in Bang Kruai, Nonthaburi, no doubt convinced Sinawatra that the rush to privatisation did not have public support. Higgs said that the Prime Minister should now meet leaders of EGAT-LU and other concerned stakeholders, and then put in effect to have a national referendum over the matter.
Last week's ICEM letter was the third such letter the global trade federation has written to Prime Minister Sinawatra over the issue of privatising the electric industry. The ICEM had also issued a worldwide call to its affiliates in the energy and electric industries to express their views to the Thai government over privatisation. Some 25 unions responded by registering their protests against the IPO.