1,000 workers stage protest at Thai Labour Ministry

BANGKOK, May 21 (TNA) - Over 1,000 workers from two factories in Thailand's northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province rallied in front of the Ministry of Labour in Bangkok Monday morning, blocking the entrance to its buildings, to demand that the ministry help get them back to work, as they have stopped working for more than a month and their negotiations with their employer for an increase in welfare have remained fruitless. The workers of Shin–Ei High Tech Company, an automobile parts manufacturer with its two plants located at the Suranaree and the Navanakorn Sung Noen Industrial Estates in Nakhon Ratchasima, had gathered outside the Ministry of Labour since this early morning in a bid to get their Japanese employer to return to negotiations. All the entrances to the ministry’s buildings have been closed for safety reasons; while some 10 security guards have stationed there to keep the situation under control. The ministry’s officials and the general public who are to contact the ministry have to show their identity (ID) cards before being allowed to get inside. One of the protesters told the Thai News Agency (TNA) that they want to resume talks with their employer immediately; so they can get back to work, and that they are willing to defer the negotiations for welfare increase for a certain period of time. The workers also claimed that the company had threatened to sue them for some 200 million baht damage and some 100 of their representatives and labour union’s committee members have already been sacked. Meanwhile, the ministry’s Department of Labour Protection and Welfare Director-General Arthi Ismo said that there should be a misunderstanding between the workers and their Japanese employer and the ministry is preparing to help clear it out, pointing out that the employer had refused to resume negotiations as some of the workers were trying to heighten their protest action; while the workers also need to have a clear representative to get back to the negotiation table. (TNA)