Workers' rights violated at Auto Alliance (Thailand)

THAILAND: The IMF general secretary, Marcello Malentacchi, has written to the president of Auto Alliance (Thailand), Mr. Toshihide Saeki, to express grave concern about the violation of workers' rights at the company's auto assembly plant in Rayong. The union at the plant is a member of the IMF-affiliated Confederation of Thai Electrical Appliance, Electronic, Automobile and Metalworkers (TEAM), but since the beginning of this year plant management has been carrying out a campaign of anti-union activities including major violations of the internationally-recognized right of workers to be represented by a union of their choice. On May 16, the situation in Rayong worsened when, in a particularly serious incident of harassment, management suspended four union leaders for allegedly instigating a refusal of overtime on the part of workers. In his letter to Mr. Saeki, the IMF general secretary points out that consultation between union officials and workers on wages, working hours and other working conditions is fundamental to the representation of workers, a right guaranteed by the conventions of the International Labour Organisation. "I urge you," wrote Malentacchi, "to immediately reinstate the suspended union leaders and halt the company campaign of harassment, intimidation and discrimination and to begin a dialogue with the AutoAlliance (Thailand) union for the establishment of a productive industrial relations climate in the enterprise." Otherwise, warned Malentacchi, the IMF and its affiliates would be compelled to launch public actions worldwide to counteract the anti-union activities of AutoAlliance (Thailand) management. Auto Alliance International, a U.S.-based transnational auto assembly company, is a joint venture between Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp.