4 December, 2024IndustriALL Global Union calls on YPC Precision in Thailand to stop union busting and respect workers’ freedom of association.
In December 2022, Thailand Autoparts and Metal Workers Union (TAM), affiliated with IndustriALL through the Confederation of Industrial Labour of Thailand (CILT), organized 400 YPC workers into union.
In February 2023, the employer, YPC, retaliated against the union by suspending three union leaders, Panicha Kanyana, Anucha Chaipha and Suphatsorn Sakaew, and transferring 38 union members to other departments. They were denied overtime work, given unreasonable key performance indicators and threatened of being replaced by outsourced workers.
In a letter to YPC in March 2023, IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie urged the company not to undermine the legitimate labour rights of the YPC workers, requesting YPC to strictly comply with international labour standards.
While Suphatsorn Sakaew has left the company, Panicha Kanyana is still fighting for her reinstatement. Anucha Chaipha was reinstated in June last year, but is facing discrimination in the workplace every day, not allowed to work overtime and is assigned unimportant tasks.
CILT president Prasit Prasopsuk says:
“The union busting by YPC management is in clear violation of Thai workers’ fundamental rights guaranteed by the Labour Relations Act of Thailand. We demand immediate reinstatement of Panicha Kanyana and an end to the discriminating against Anucha Chaipha.”
Atle Høie says:
“We will fight against the union busting side by side with CILT and TAM. We urge everyone to support the call to action initiated by the IndustriALL youth working group in South East Asia, East Asia and Pacific (SEA2PAC-Y) and sign the petition. Union busting is unacceptable and violates the workers’ rights according to Thai law.”
Please sign and share the petition initiated by SEA2PAC-Y.