INTERNET FREEDOM:

AGAINST INTERNET CENSORSHIP IN THAILAND:

The following story and petition comes from the Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT) blog. As you will see below the idea that signers have to "sign their name in Thai: may be more than slightly off-puting, but I personally am going to try to do it via Google translate. Wait for the results at the end of this post.

IFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIF
FACT – Freedom Against Censorship Thailand
กลุ่มเสรีภาพต่อต้านการเซ็นเซอร์แห่งประเทศไทย
PLEASE SIGN FACT’s PETITION!
14-03-10
Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT) was founded on November 15, 2006 on the basis of a petition against Internet censorship which was presented to Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission and later to the Official Information Commission under a military coup government. The NHRC was disbanded by the coup and government officials refused illegally to cooperate with the OIC.

FACT has never deviated from its opposition to all censorship in Thailand and everywhere else. FACT’s original petition is now largely of historical interest.

FACT’s working group has now prepared a Mission Statement, our statement of principles and purpose to replace our original petition.

FACT now has more than 1,500 signers. If you have signed FACT’s petition, there is no need for you to sign again. However, if you have not signed, we urge you to sign FACT’s petition, and ask your friends, family and colleagues to sign. FACT’s petition is open to all.

For your signature to be counted, you must sign your FULL NAME in Thai and English, your affiliation, your location and your email address for verification.

FACT’s petition is hosted on FACTsite, with the Asian Human Rights Commission and at Change.org.

Please join us if you believe in FREEDOM. You have nothing to lose but your fear…and your chains.
Say NO to censorship!
These rights are universal: freedom of speech; freedom of expression; freedom of communication, including the Internet; freedom of association, including virtual association; media freedom, including the blogosphere; academic freedom, including digital learning; freedom of opinion; freedom of thought; freedom of ideas. A free Internet is our fundamental human right. Free expression is not a crime.

FACT supports all media, including the Internet, free of interference or regulation as the best means of participatory democracy possible. Every person deserves an equal voice and has a right to privacy and anonymity. These are our basic liberties.

FACT believes in transparent, accountable and democratic government. All people deserve freedom from fear.

We have the fundamental human right to unrestricted knowledge, knowledge without borders, boundaries, limits. A fully-informed public with access to all opinions is an asset to both our national and the international community. Education, knowledge and information are never a threat to national security.

Censorship in Thailand conceals a hidden political agenda used to repress dissent. Censorship reinforces social, class, gender, religious and economic divisions which, suppressed, are root causes of violence in Thai society.

Abduction, kidnap, torture, forced confessions, disappearance, extrajudicial murder, the death penalty, are the ultimate censorship. We support reconciliation in the human community.

FACT celebrates human diversity: all views share equal validity, if only for one person. Open minds, open hearts.

FACT believes most human beings choose good over evil. We believe applying community and family standards to Thai society will result in personal responsibility, the full development of our children and a truly free society.

Censorship is a clear violation of our fundamental human rights, civil liberties and basic freedoms.
NO COMPROMISE:

Stop censorship NOW!

IFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIF

Well, I think I signed the petition or at least signed my support for FACT by going to the link above...all this without trying to sign my name in Thai. I don't think I can direct the reader any further, as I am quite confused by this, other than by directing you to one of the links above.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-THAILAND:

SOLIDARITY WITH THAI RAILWAY WORKERS:

The following appeal for solidarity with railway workers in Thailand is from the online labour solidarity site Labour Start.

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Thailand:

Support railway workers

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and its affiliate, the State Railway Workers' Union of Thailand (SRUT) are demanding the Thai rail management (SRT) stop its anti-union practices and improve its industrial relationship with the union. Six union officials in the Hat Yai Branch were unfairly dismissed in October 2009 for taking part in national industrial action. Union members refused to drive unsafe trains after a fatal accident had occurred. The driver in the crash had fallen asleep on duty because he had been working for a month with only one rest day. Background to this incident are the lack of investment and a large-scale reduction of jobs in the SRT by the government. To investigate the dismissal case and to study the safety conditions in the SRT, the ITF sent its mission to Bangkok and Hat Yai in January 2010. Based on its findings, the team recommended the management to (a) reinstate the dismissed workers; (b) stop further victimisation of union officials; (c) drop the law suit for damages filed against the union and (d) build a new safety culture in the Thai railways with the workers and the union where whistle-blowers are not penalised. The ITF visit coincided with the meeting of the State Enterprise Labour Relations Committee, which was investigating the dismissal case. On 15 January, this tripartite panel voted 5 to 4 against the management's decision. Nevertheless, the Transport Minister is pushing the SRT to take the case to court. In the meantime, the SRT tried to revoke the collective bargaining agreement but was forced to withdraw its proposals within days, after being confronted with a very unpopular response from the workplaces. The management has only a week left to submit the case to court. Now is the time to act and urge them to stop this.

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The Letter:

Please go to this link to send the following letter to the Thai State railway Board.

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Yutthana Thapcharoen

Governor The State Railway of Thailand (SRT)
I am hereby expressing my support towards the campaign by the ITF in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the State Railway Workers\' Union of Thailand (SRUT).

I subscribe to their demands to (a) reinstate the six dismissed workers in Hat Yai; (b) stop further victimisation of union officials; (c) drop the law suit for damages filed against the union and (d) build a new safety culture in the Thai railways with the workers and the union where whistle-blowers are not penalised.

This is not the time to escalate a conflict with the union. Instead, you must take a strong initiative to urgently improve railway safety together with the union and to rectify the current industrial relationship.

I will be following this case through information provided by the ITF and Labour Start until it is resolved.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-THAILAND:
THREATS AGAINST THAI WORKERS:
The following story and appeal comes from the Clean Clothes Campaign. Have a look at the device circled in the photograph. It's described more below. Don't be surprised to see more and more of these deployed by the police at various demonstration across the world. Molly wonders who manufactuers these things. An interesting question.
ILILILILILILILIL
Leaders of Peaceful Protest Against Triumph Threatened with Arrest in Thailand:
Workers were confronted with police using a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD)


On August 28, the Dusit Police Bureau in Bangkok issued arrest warrants against three union activists for their role in a peaceful demonstration against the dismissal of nearly 2000 workers at Body Fashion Thailand, a wholly owned subsidiary of Triumph International.


Take action now to prevent their arrest!







The day before, hundreds of Triumph workers assembled in front of the parliament to hand a petition to the Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. However, Vejjajiva refused to meet with the union representatives, and instead the workers were confronted with police using a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD). This controversial military weapon consists of a high concentration of sound waves that can cause temporarily deafness and blurred vision, as well as permanent hearing loss. According to human rights organisations, this non-lethal weapon can be classified as a technique of political control that poses a threat to civil liberties.








Bunrawd Saiwong (33), secretary of the Triumph International Thailand Labour Union, Jitra Kotchadej (34), independent consultant of TITLU, and Sunthorn Boonyod (50), manager at Labour Congress Centre for Labour Unions of Thailand, are accused of breaching the recently invoked Internal Security Act forbidding demonstrations of more than 10 people in Dusit district in Bangkok. The ISA gives a wide range of power to the authorities to arrest and detain, not unlike a State of Emergency decree. In this case, the law is being used to suppress peaceful assembly and freedom of speech in a case of labour rights violations committed by a European multinational corporation.








The demonstration at the Thai parliament is one of the many protest actions organised by the Triumph union against the dismissal of half of the workforce of the Triumph International subsidiary Body Fashion Thailand. The union has been confronted with anti-union behaviour by the management since summer 2008. They fear that the announced retrenchment is yet another attempt to get rid of unionised workplaces. This is supported by the fact that other factories in Thailand, owned by the same company but without a democratically elected union in place, are expanding. Furthermore, Triumph failed to abide by ILO convention 158 and the OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, which call for companies to develop and negotiate a retrenchment plan with the union, and to provide detailed information supporting the business decision behind the plan. Throughout August, the management repeatedly cancelled meetings with the union.




See also http://www.cleanclothes.org/triumph-dismissals-in-asia-attempt-to-get-rid-of-unions to find out more about the mass layoffs at Triumph factories in Thailand and the Philippines.
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THE LETTER:
Please go to THIS LINK to send the following protest letter to Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

ILILILILILILILIL

CONCERNING ARREST THREATS MADE AGAINST THAI WORKERS:
Please write to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva today to prevent the arrests of these three union activists.
Also contact Triumph International here to demand proper negotiations with the unions in Thailand and the Philippines in case of mass-dismissals.
Send the following letter directly to:
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, The Secretariat Of the Prime Minister Office Thai Government House Phitsanulok Road, Dusit Bangkok, Thailand Fax: +662 282 8558 Email: IcAd@thaigov.go.th
Dear Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva,


I write to you today to express my serious concerns about the arrest warrants against Jitra Kotchadej, Sunthorn Boonyod, and Bunrawd Saiwong, issued by the Dusit Police Bureau on August 28, 2009. I have been informed by the Clean Clothes Campaign that these three labour rights activists are accused of inciting unrest for participating in a peaceful protest against the dismissal of nearly 2000 workers at Body Fashion Thailand, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Triumph International. Bunrawd Saiwong is the secretary of the Triumph International Thailand Labour Union (TITLU), Jitra Kotchadej works as an independent consultant for TITLU, and Sunthorn Boonyod is a manager at Labour Congress Centre for Labour Unions of Thailand (LCCLUT).








I am very concerned that the arrest warrants are being used to suppress peaceful assembly and freedom of speech in a case of labour rights violations committed by a European multinational corporation. In addition to the arrest warrants, I am alarmed by reports of excessive police brutality as evidenced by use of a military weapon, the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), against the peaceful protesters.








As you may know, on June 29 Body Fashion Thailand announced that nearly half of the factory’s workforce would be dismissed by the end of August. Triumph failed to abide by ILO convention 158 and the OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises which call for companies to develop and negotiate a retrenchment plan with the union, and to provide detailed information supporting the business decision behind the plan.








Naturally, the Triumph International Thailand Labour Union has rejected Triumph’s unilateral decision and called on the company to halt the retrenchment and engage in transparent negotiation with the union. This was the focus of the peaceful protest that took place on August 27 in front of the Thai Parliament.








I send this email to urge your government to:
**withdraw the arrest warrants against Jitra Kotchadej, Sunthorn Boonyod, and Bunrawd Saiwong with immediate effect;
**investigate the use of LRAD by the police on August 27, 2009 against the laid-off workers of Triumph International subsidiary Body Fashion Thailand Co., Ltd, Anyon Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and subcontractor Worldwell Garment Co., Ltd, who joined the peaceful protest in front of the parliament building;
**ensure that Body Fashion Thailand, Co., Ltd, Anyon Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and subcontractor Worldwell Garment Co., Ltd, abide by ILO convention 158 and the OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises;
**ensure the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of speech to union leaders, union members and workers in general.
Sincerely,
ILILILILILILIL
Also at the same link you can send a letter to Mr. M. Spiesshofer, the CEO of Triumph International , the corporate entity behind the recent suffering of workers in Thailand and the Philippines.
ILILILILILILIL

BACKGROUND

Triumph workers in Bangkok demonstrated earlier this month against the planned close down of their factory by throwing bras in the air in front of the District labour office.Lingerie producer blames global recession for factory closures.





The German/Swiss lingerie multinational Triumph seems to use the pretext of the global economic recession to close down factories in the Philippines and Thailand. A number of these closures are irregular.On June 29, Triumph's producer in Thailand, Body Fashion Thailand, announced that around half of its 4200 workers would be out of their jobs by the end of August. Earlier this year, another Thai Triumph producer, Worldwell Garment Company, was closed down on Labour Day (May 1), and the entire work force sent home without their last salaries or the legally-required severance compensations.In the Philippines, 1660 garment workers will loose their jobs by the end of August when Triumph International (Philippines) Ltd. and Star Performance Inc. will close down. Neither in Thailand nor in the Philippines did the Triumph management conduct timely and transparent negotiations with the factory workers' unions as required by international labour standards.Support these Thai and Filipino workers in their struggle. Send letters to Triumph's headquarters in Switzerland today and forward this message to your friends. Your actions will make a difference!
Take action now!

MORE BACKGROUND
Triumph cites the global recession as a major reason for downscaling their production. It is clear, however, that Triumph's actions are aimed at hampering the unions in their factories. They are closing those departments and those factories where the unions are strongest. At the same time, they are expanding a new factory in northern Thailand.Workers unions in Thailand and the Philippines have been organizing picket lines and other forms of peaceful protest agains these dishonest practises. We demand from Triumph International that they persue any major restructuring of their factory operations in cooperation with the established factory unions, rescind the dismissals, disclose the full information that led to the planned retrenchments and closures, generally operate in line with ILO core conventions as well as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.Triumph has a history of ignoring labour-rights violations in the Asian factories where they outsource the production of their luxury lifestyle products. Last year, the Swiss multinational was accused of harassing union leaders in the same factories: see www.cleanclothes.org/triumph-union-continues-fight-for-fairnessIn 2002, Triumph was also one of the last international firms to withdraw production from Burma (Myanmar). The Burmese military government has been accused of gross political repression and massive human rights violations.

Support these Thai and Filipino workers in their struggle. Send letters to Triumph today and forward this message to your friends. Your actions will make a difference!
Use this form to send the following two letters directly to:

Mr. M. Spiesshofer, Chief Executive Officer,
Triumph International AG,Bad Zurzag, Switzerland.
ILILILILILILIL
THE LETTER:
This is tghe proposed letter that workers at Triumph International would like you to send to the company.
ILILILILILILIL
Dear Mr. Spiesshofer,
Re. Triumph's reduction plans in the The Philippines and Thailand.




Through the Clean Clothes Campaign I learned about Triumph International's intention to considerably reduce the workforce at its subsidiary Body Fashion Thailand (BFT) as well as in the Triumph International (Philippines) Ltd. and Star Performance Inc. factories in the Philippines.




I also read that these retrenchments and other major restructurings were done without proper consultation with the workers' unions. The fact that the management did not engage in open and timely negotiations with the union prior to the planned dismissals is a breach of the international standards such as the ILO convention 158 and the OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.




I am also concerned about signs of union-busting in Triumph International's reduction plans since Triumph International seems to primarily reduce the workforce in unionised factories. In my opinion these moves could be interpreted as anti-union acts and as such could be considered as breaches of Triumph International's Code of Conduct, ILO core conventions and the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises.




I was further informed that another Thai factory that produced for Triumph International, Worldwell Garment Company Ltd., was closed down in May this year and the workers have not yet received their last salaries and their full severance compensation fees that they are legally entitled to.




I am writing to you to express my serious concern about these practises. I urge you as the responsible CEO on behalf of Triumph International to intervene at your subsidiaries and to use your influence at the factories where Triumph International has been outsourcing the production in order to guarantee that the unions and workers are treated fairly.




I request you to:
**present full documentation to TITLU and the Triumph workers union in the Philippines, BPMTI, on why Triumph International has opted for the current plan to reduce the workforce in the said factories.
**restart the process of reduction of the workforce in close co-operation with TITLU and BPMTI and in accordance with current CBA, the ILO-conventions, as well as the OECD guidelines.
Keenly awaiting your response and action on these matters,
Yours sincerely,

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-THAILAND/THE PHILIPPINES:

SUPPORT TRIUMPH WORKERS IN EAST ASIA:

The following appeal to support workers faced by layoffs by the Triumph multinational comes from the Clean Clothes Campaign.

ILILILILILILIL
'Triumph' dismissals in Asia attempt to get rid of unions.:
Triumph workers in Bangkok demonstrated earlier this month against the planned close down of their factory by throwing bras in the air in front of the District labour office.Lingerie producer blames global recession for factory closures.

The German/Swiss lingerie multinational Triumph seems to use the pretext of the global economic recession to close down factories in the Philippines and Thailand. A number of these closures are irregular.

On June 29, Triumph's producer in Thailand, Body Fashion Thailand, announced that around half of its 4200 workers would be out of their jobs by the end of August. Earlier this year, another Thai Triumph producer, Worldwell Garment Company, was closed down on Labour Day (May 1), and the entire work force sent home without their last salaries or the legally-required severance compensations.

In the Philippines, 1660 garment workers will loose their jobs by the end of August when Triumph International (Philippines) Ltd. and Star Performance Inc. will close down. Neither in Thailand nor in the Philippines did the Triumph management conduct timely and transparent negotiations with the factory workers' unions as required by international labour standards.

Support these Thai and Filipino workers in their struggle. Send letters to Triumph's headquarters in Switzerland today and forward this message to your friends. Your actions will make a difference!
Take action now!

BACKGROUND
Triumph cites the global recession as a major reason for downscaling their production. It is clear, however, that Triumph's actions are aimed at hampering the unions in their factories. They are closing those departments and those factories where the unions are strongest. At the same time, they are expanding a new factory in northern Thailand.

Workers unions in Thailand and the Philippines have been organizing picket lines and other forms of peaceful protest against these dishonest practises. We demand from Triumph International that they pursue any major restructuring of their factory operations in cooperation with the established factory unions, rescind the dismissals, disclose the full information that led to the planned retrenchments and closures, generally operate in line with ILO core conventions as well as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Triumph has a history of ignoring labour-rights violations in the Asian factories where they outsource the production of their luxury lifestyle products. Last year, the Swiss multinational was accused of harassing union leaders in the same factories: see www.cleanclothes.org/triumph-union-continues-fight-for-fairness

In 2002, Triumph was also one of the last international firms to withdraw production from Burma (Myanmar). The Burmese military government has been accused of gross political repression and massive human rights violations.

ILILILILILILIL

THE LETTER:

Please go to the link cited above to send the following letter to Triumph management.

ILILILILILILIL
Dear Mr. Spiesshofer,

Re. Triumph's reduction plans in the The Philippines and Thailand.

Through the Clean Clothes Campaign I learned about Triumph International's intention to considerably reduce the workforce at its subsidiary Body Fashion Thailand (BFT) as well as in the Triumph International (Philippines) Ltd. and Star Performance Inc. factories in the Philippines.

I also read that these retrenchments and other major restructurings were done without proper consultation with the workers' unions. The fact that the management did not engage in open and timely negotiations with the union prior to the planned dismissals is a breach of the international standards such as the ILO convention 158 and the OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

I am also concerned about signs of union-busting in Triumph International's reduction plans since Triumph International seems to primarily reduce the workforce in unionised factories. In my opinion these moves could be interpreted as anti-union acts and as such could be considered as breaches of Triumph International's Code of Conduct, ILO core conventions and the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises.

I was further informed that another Thai factory that produced for Triumph International, Worldwell Garment Company Ltd., was closed down in May this year and the workers have not yet received their last salaries and their full severance compensation fees that they are legally entitled to.

I am writing to you to express my serious concern about these practises. I urge you as the responsible CEO on behalf of Triumph International to intervene at your subsidiaries and to use your influence at the factories where Triumph International has been outsourcing the production in order to guarantee that the unions and workers are treated fairly.

I request you to:
***present full documentation to TITLU and the Triumph workers union in the Philippines, BPMTI, on why Triumph International has opted for the current plan to reduce the workforce in the said factories.
***restart the process of reduction of the workforce in close co-operation with TITLU and BPMTI and in accordance with current CBA, the ILO-conventions, as well as the OECD guidelines.

Keenly awaiting your response and action on these matters,

Yours sincerely,

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-THAILAND:

AGAINST CENSORSHIP IN THAILAND:

The following is from the Asian Anarchist Network, and it deals with the matter of censorship in Thailand, a struggle that is unfortunately all too common across the world.

.............................

Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT) releases 2008 blocklists - 1,303 new websites CENSORED!‏:
Freedom Against Censorship Thailand:
กลุ่มเสรีภาพต่อต้านการเซ็นเซอร์แห่งประเทศไทย
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008 MICT secret Thai blocklists
http://facthai.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/2008-mict-secret-thai-blocklists-1303-new-websites-blocked/
2008 Thailand blocklist statistics
http://facthai.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/2008-thailand-blocklist-statistics-1303-new
2008 Blocklist Analysis: 1,303 new websites censored:
Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT) has just received secret blocklists leaked from Thailand's Ministry of Information and Communication Technology. We know they're secret because each one is stamped
ลับ!
Under conditions imposed by the Computer-Related Crimes Act 2007, no website may be legally blocked without a court order. In fact, this pesky legal stipulation is not rigorously adhered to and both the Royal Thai Police and the more than 100 Thai ISPs typically block as they wish.

However, the leaked blocklists, dated June 27 (nine webpages), July 21 (19 pages of 403 webpages), August 1 (four pages of 63 webpages), December 1 (24 pages of 400 webpages), December 8 (24 pages of 400 webpages) and 28 further undated webpages, are accompanied by court orders detailing applications of the Ministry which authorise most of the websites censored. The court orders to ISPs cite reasons of lese majeste and national security and are dated June 27, August 1, August 25 and December 9 signed by ICT ministry officers Thanit Prapatnan

ธนิต ประภาตนันท์ and Aree Jiworarak อารีย์ จิวรรักษ์.
Blocked websites are located in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, the European Union, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Vietnam.

Court orders are not customarily sealed from public view. In fact, maintaining such documents via an open judicial process as a matter of public record is a crucial democratic cornerstone. However, these court orders authorising web-blocking are the first to come to light under the new cybercrime law.

Every site requested for blocking has the stated reason of lese majeste, however, it is obvious that many sites were blocked for quite different reasons. It would appear, in fact, that the court did not examine each site before issuing its order but instead relied on MICT's judgement.
Although we have not yet found the opportunity to examine each website censored, as in the past, an eclectic mix of censorship has been revealed resulting in overblocking of many benign webpages.

Along with the obligatory YouTube videos and their mirror sites alleged to be lese majeste in Thailand, numerous blocks to Thai webboard pages, particularly at popular discussion sites, Prachatai (45 separate pages) and Same Sky (56 separate pages). Of course, all webboards in Thailand, including Prachatai and Same Sky, moderate all threads and discussions and self-censor to avoid closure. It is interesting that bureaucrats still find reasons to censor.

Also blocked are weblogs referencing Paul Handley's unauthorised Biography of Thailand's King Bhumibhol, The King Never Smiles, and its translation into Thai along with Thai Wikipedia entries.

The webpages of respected Thai Buddhist social critic, Sulak Sivaraksa who is currently on bail for his fourth accusation of lese majeste, and Matthew Hunt, respected Thai journalist, anticensorship activist and FACT signer, are also blocked as are pages of the respected international newsmagazine, The Economist.

A total of 860 YouTube videos have been blocked, far in excess of the blocking conducted by The Official Censor of the Military Coup; a further 200 pages mirroring those videos are also blocked.

Curiously, "bum fight movies", Hillary Clinton's campaign videos, and 24 Charlie Chaplin videos have also been blocked, perhaps due to their Web location at Clown-Ministry.

While we may never learn the real extent of government Internet censorship, these blocklists provide us some perspective for analysis in the current ultra-Royalist social climate.

Typically, web censorship in Thailand is conducted in secret. We think there is a right to know inherent in a free society. We call for transparency and accountability in government and freedom of expression, freedom of communication and freedom of association as fundamental human rights.

On December 21, a new ICT minister was appointed to Cabinet, Ranongruk Suwanchawee. He must be held accountable for censorship.
--000--
Box 31, Udomsuk Post Office
Bangkok 10261 Thailand
http://facthai.wordpress.com
telephone. +66-7-976-1880

email. facthai@gmail.com
----------- -------

Website / เว็บไซต์ :

<http://facthai.wordpress.com>

Petition / คำร้อง :

<http://thailand.ahrchk.net/fact_petition/>

ไม่ประนีประนอม!

NO CENSORSHIP!

NO COMPROMISE!

Contact details / ติดต่อ :

CJ Hinke (English)

email: <facthai@gmail.com>

tel. [+66] (0)87-976-1880

Skype: unblocktheplanet

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-THAILAND:

TRIUMPH TRIUMPHS BUT THE FIGHT GOES ON:

The following story from the Clean Clothes Campaign, an international solidarity group for workers in the garment industry, tells how Body fashion Thailand, a subsidiary of Triumph International, has won its court case regarding its right to dismiss union activists for their pro-union stance. The fight, however, isn't over, and the CCC has a link that you can follow for further action.

................................

PRESS RELEASE: Thai Labour Court Gives Triumph Factory the Green Light to Violate Human Rights:‏

November 27, 2008

For immediate release

(Amsterdam) Today a labour court in Bangkok gave Body Fashion Thailand,a wholly-owned subsidiary of Triumph International, the green light in its effort to dismiss union president Jitra Kotshadej. The company filed a case against Ms. Kotshadej in relation to her participation, during her private time, in a national television debate wearing a t-shirt with the text 'Those who do not stand are not criminals. Thinking differently is not a crime.' The t-shirt refers to the right of people not to stand when the royal anthem is played and the abuse of lèse-majesté legislation to suppress political opposition. The company claims that her appearance damaged its reputation.

"By suing a union president, Triumph subsidiary Body Fashion Thailand(BFT) denies the fundamental right of freedom of expression" says Tessel Pauli, coordinator of the Clean Clothes Campaign. "Although the company has every right to distance itself from Ms. Kotshadej's personal opinions, it has an obligation to support her right to express them."

The Clean Clothes Campaign is concerned about Triumph's misuse of the courts to take action against a union leader, particularly when it is aimed at limiting her fundamental human rights. The threat of legal action discourages workers from joining and being active in unions, and appealing an unfair court decision is very difficult for workers, who rarely have the time and resources to pursue a lengthy legal battle.

Body Fashion Thailand first dismissed Ms. Kotshadej in July 2008. In response, more than 2000 of her co-workers laid down their work to demand her reinstatement. At the end of the 45-day strike, the company and the union agreed to a retrial of the dismissal case. Ms. Kotshadejdid not have a chance to defend herself in the first trial, because the company never properly informed her of their charges against her. Ms.Kotshadej will appeal against the labour court order.

Triumph International's Code of Conduct explicitly supports Article 19of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states:

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

The Code also explicitly supports freedom of association and prohibits acts of anti-union discrimination as set out in ILO conventions. Despite the workers' strike and repeated requests by Thai human rights groups and the Clean Clothes Campaign, Triumph refused to drop the case against Ms. Kotshadej.

For more information about the case, see

http://cleanclothes.org/urgent/08-11-06.htm

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-THAILAND:

SUPPORT WORKERS AT BODY FASHION THAILAND:

...................................

The following appeal for solidarity with workers at Triumph International's branch in Thailand comes from the Clean Clothes Campaign, an international solidarity group fighting for the rights of garment workers worldwide.

................................

Take action today: Support Triumph Union in Thailand and Tell Triumph to Stop Sitting on the Sidelines!‏:
TRIUMPH UNION CONTINUES FIGHT FOR FAIRNESS;

TELL TRIUMPH TO STOP SITTING ON THE SIDELINES!

The workers at Body Fashion Thailand (BFT), Triumph International’s Thai subsidiary, are responsible for sewing the underwear and bras that bear Triumph’s name. They are proud of their work—and their union. So when their union president, Jitra Kotshadej, was unfairly dismissed in July, they went on strike to demand justice. While Ms. Kotshadej awaits a hearing of her case in court, members of the Triumph International Thailand Labour Union went back to work.

But now they’re fighting against the management’s attempt to limit union rights and discriminate against union members. The union and the CCC have repeatedly called on Triumph International to take an active role to ensure that Body Fashion Thailand respects international labour standards, fundamental human rights, and Triumph International’s own Code of Conduct. But Triumph International continues to sit on the sidelines while relations at the factory turn sour.

Please write to Triumph International today to call for its active participation in resolving the outstanding problems at its Thai factory.

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Take action now!

Go to: http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/08-11-06.htm#action

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Background

On August 1, 2008 more than 2000 workers at Triumph subsidiary Body Fashion Thailand went on strike to demand the reinstatement of their unjustly dismissed union president Jitra Kotshadej (see http://www.cleanclothes.org/ftp/08-09-04_Triumph_FACT_SHEET.pdf). Despite protest emails from thousands of international labour activists in support of the union, Triumph International refused to reinstate Ms. Kotshadej. She is now preparing to argue her case in court beginning on November 17.

In the meantime, the union agreed to end the strike. Although factory management signed an agreement on September 12 guaranteeing that the company would not retaliate or discriminate against workers who went on strike, the union has reported just that.

Now that orders seem to be low at BFT, workers who participated in the strike are not being assigned jobs and are therefore denied much-need bonuses. On top of this, union members report frequent verbal abuse by supervisors and a stricter leave policy. In October two meetings between the union and BFT took place. While BFT management promised to address issues of discrimination and harassment, no concrete action has followed to date. BFT management has agreed to set up an investigation team into the reported acts of BFT management involvement in anti-union acts during the August-September strike and reported acts of corruption.

However, since the company refused to have representatives of Triumph International headquarters and the German Triumph Works Council included in the investigation team, the union is afraid that this team (comprised of BFT management staff and representatives of the union) will not be able to come out of the current deadlock situation.

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Triumph International’s Empty Promise

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From September 23 to October 4, Miss Wanphen Wongsombat of the Triumph International Thailand Labour Union and Miss Premjai Jaikla of the Thai Labour Campaign visited Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland to press Triumph International to ensure compliance with its Code of Conduct, international labour standards and basic human rights.

They met with labour activists, NGOs and trade unions and participated in seminars and conferences. On the final day of their visit, they met with representatives of Triumph International at its headquarters in Switzerland. Triumph repeated its expectations that factories implement the standards set out in the Triumph Code of Conduct. Yet it refused to take responsibility and to intervene to help solve the problems at its factory. Without such engagement, Triumph’s Code of Conduct is simply an empty promise on a piece of paper. Now is the time for Triumph International to commit to direct involvement and put an end to discrimination against union members and ensure full implementation of agreements between the management and the union.

Please write to

Take action at: http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/08-11-06.htm#action or adapt/send the sample letter below:

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Triumph International Swiss Headquarters

Leonardo Innocenzi,

Global Head of Supply Chain

Email: leonardo.innocenzi@triumph.com

Dear Leonardo Innocenzi,

Now is the time for Triumph to play an active role in ensuring that union members at your subsidiary, Body Fashion Thailand, are treated fairly and in accordance with international labour standards and your Code of Conduct.

By now you are well aware of the events leading up to the current situation at your subsidiary, Body Fashion Thailand. I am alarmed to hear that union members who went on strike are now facing discrimination. I understand that workers who participated in the strike are not being assigned jobs and are therefore denied much-need bonuses. On top of this, union members report verbal abuse by supervisors and a stricter leave policy. In October, two meetings between the union and BFT took place. While BFT management promised to address issues of discrimination and harassment, no concrete action has followed to date.

I am encouraged that BFT management has agreed to set up an investigation team into the reported acts of management involvement in anti-union acts during the August-September strike and reported acts of corruption. However, the company refused to include representatives of Triumph International headquarters or the German Triumph Works Council in the investigation team. Now is the time for Triumph International to commit to direct involvement and show that it is serious about implementation of its Code of Conduct.

I therefore urge your company to immediately put an end to incidents of union discrimination, ensure full implementation of agreements between management and the union, and follow up on other outstanding labour issues directly with the union. The first step would be to join the investigation team, include the German Works Council, broaden its mandate to investigate allegations of discrimination against the union since the end of the strike, and ensure a fair, transparent and quick process.

Sincerely,

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Box: Profile of a Triumph Union Activist

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Miss Wanphen Wongsombat started working at Triumph’s Thai subsidiary, Body Fashion Thailand, as a production worker (sewing) in 1995. After she joined the union in 1996, she was soonelected as a committee member for the union. During the last round of bargaining negotiations in July, Wanphen was one of the main negotiators. When union president Jitra Kotshadej was unfairly dismissed on July 29, 2008, Wanphen was among the first to organise the mass protests demanding her reinstatement.

During bargaining negotiations in July, Wanphen was confronted with the challenges of union organising in Thailand. She received threats by phone from anonymous callers who warned her that her union activities would cause her personal harm. And just before she left to participate in a CCC speaker tour in five European countries, she received death threats in an attempt to discourage her from continuing her fight for the union and BFT workers.

Since returning from Europe, she has received anonymous calls in the night. As if this were not enough, Wanphen is also facing a campaign by BFT management against her on the factory floor. While participating in the Clean Clothes Campaign tour, rumours were reportedly spread that Wanphen was on holiday in Europe while her fellow workers had to sew Triumph bras. At other times, Wanphen was reportedly accused of calling for a boycott of Triumph in Europe with the intention of destroying the factory altogether. Particularly now that accusations of lèse majesté (the Thai law that penalizes insults to the Thai king) are widely used to retaliate against political and human rights activists, Wanphen is also afraid that cyber threats to file complaints against the most articulate Triumph union leaders will indeed become realities.

Support Wanphen’s and the union’s work, and write to Triumph today!

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http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/08-11-06.htm

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR:

SOLIDARITY WITH THAI WORKERS' FREE SPEECH:

The following comes from the Maquila Solidarity Network and the Clean Clothes Campaign.

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Support Thai workers: stop Triumph's union busting‏:

Support Thai women workers: stop Triumph’s union busting.

Triumph International fires union leader for wearing a political T-shirt; 3,000 workers strike back.

On July 30, 2008, a Thai subsidiary of Triumph International, one of the world’s largest makers of intimate apparel, fired union president Jitra Kotchadej for wearing an unfashionable t-shirt.

She wasn’t wearing the t-shirt at work, and it wasn’t the colour or the design of the t-shirt that caused offence. It was the message on the shirt: ‘Those who do not stand are not criminals. Thinking differently is not a crime’ -- a reference to the right of people not to stand when the Thai royal anthem is played and to the abuse of Thailand’s lèse-majesté legislation to suppress political opposition.

Ms. Kotchadej was participating in a late night TV debate on women’s reproductive rights. Despite the fact that she was speaking in her private time and not in her capacity as a union leader or worker at Triumph’s Body Fashion (Thailand) Ltd. Factory, she was fired. Since then, 3,000 of her co-workers have walked out of the factory in a show of solidarity, demanding the reinstatement of their union president.

Since its inception in 1991, the Triumph Workers’ Union has been an important example of successful union organizing in the apparel sector in Thailand, representing 70 percent of workers at the company. The majority of members are women. The union views the dismissal of their president as an attack on the union, which successfully negotiated a collective bargaining agreement this summer.

Support their fight for freedom of expression and trade union rights! Click here to write to Triumph today.


More information: http://www.maquilasolidarity.org//

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LETTER:

Triumph International/Spiesshofer & Braun Leonardo Innocenzi Global Head of Supply Chain E-mail: leonardo.innocenzi@triumph.com cc: Prasad Ramakrishnan, Triumph International Corporate Head of Production - Global Supply Chain E-mail: prasad.ramakrishnan@triumph.com


Dear Leonardo Innocenzi,

I want to express my serious concern about the recent dismissal of Jitra Kotchadej, union president at your subsidiary Body Fashion (Thailand) Ltd.

Freedom of expression is a basic human right, and guaranteed within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. I am shocked to hear that your company does not respect this basic right, and has dismissed Jitra Kotchadej for expressing her personal opinion.

I call upon Triumph International and your subsidiary Body Fashion (Thailand) Ltd. to:

1) Immediately reinstate union president Jitra Kotshadej at her previous position and without conditions;
2) Take back the union members who have laid down their work in support of Jitra Kotshadej, without conditions or disciplinary actions, and with a compensation for their lost income;
3) Engage in a dialogue with the union regarding the reported anti-union activities of BFT management.
I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely


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Maquila Solidarity Network / Ethical Trading Action Group

606 Shaw Street,

Toronto,

Ontario,

Canada

M6G 3L6

416-532-8584 (phone)

416-532-7688 (fax)

http://www.maquilasolidarity.org/