Thailand – Migrant workers
3. The core content of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights
3.1 Action plan on labour
3.1.3 Action Plan (2019–2022)
Pillar 1: State duties in protecting (Protect)
|
No. |
Issues |
Activities |
Responsible agencies | Time-frame (2019–2022) | Indicators (wide frame) | Compliance with National Strategy/ SDGs/UNGPs |
| 2. | Amendments to laws, regulations, policies
and related measures |
Review border employment policy in a manner aimed at protecting all workers who are legal without discrimination, including protection of family members who are with them. This is to be in accordance with the ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers. | – Ministry of Labour | 2019–2022 | Number of policies reviewed | – National Strategy for Human Capital Development and Strengthening
– National Strategy for Social Cohesion and Just Society – SDG 8 – UNGPs Articles 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 |
| 6. | Eliminating discrimination in employment and the workplace | Consider measures of social protection for migrant workers, especially agricultural and fishery workers, seasonal employees, and domestic workers. | – Ministry of Labour | 2019–2022 | Monitoring measures of migrant workers | – National Strategy for Human Capital Development and Strengthening
– National Strategy for Social Cohesion and Just Society – SDG 8 – UNGPs Articles 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 |
| Consider and determine measures and mechanisms for employment of other vulnerable groups, such as … stateless persons and migrants, including those of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity to enter the labour system in line with international human rights principles | – Ministry of Labour
– Ministry of Interior – Ministry of Social Development and Human Security – Office of the National Security Council |
2019–2022 | Number of vulnerable groups employed | – National Strategy for Social Cohesion and Just Society
– National Strategy for Public Sector Rebalancing and Development – SDG 5, 8 and 10 – UNGPs Articles 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 |
||
| 9. | Access to health services for workers | Develop friendly health service systems for migrant workers such as migrant public health volunteers to create effective access to public health | – Ministry of Public Health | 2019–2022 | A mechanism to provide public health services for migrant workers | – National Strategy for Human Capital Development and Strengthening
– National Strategy for Social Cohesion and Just Society – SDG 3, 8 and 10 – UNGPs Articles 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 |
| 10. | Children of migrant workers | Address the problem of access to education by children of migrant workers by providing basic education in accordance with the problem’s conditions and needs, both in the public and private system and informal (non-formal education) | – – Ministry of Education | 2019–2022 | Number of establishments received promotion of welfare other than those stated by law (places/ persons) | – National Strategy for Human Capital Development and Strengthening
– SDG 4 and 8 – UNGPs Articles 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 |
| 10. | Children of migrant workers | Address the problem of access to education by children of migrant workers by providing basic education in accordance with the problem’s conditions and needs, both in the public and private system and informal (non-formal education) | – Ministry of Education | 2019–2022 | Number of establishments received promotion of welfare other than those stated by law (places/ persons) | – National Strategy for Human Capital Development and Strengthening
– SDG 4 and 8 – UNGPs Articles 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 |
| 11. | Human trafficking and forced labour | Consider bringing measures or labour laws which are applied to the fishery sector to be used in the supervision of labour conditions in other industrial sectors such as agriculture and construction in which many migrant workers are hired | – Royal Thai Police
– Ministry of Agriculture – Ministry of Labour Ministry of Industry |
2019–2022 | Number of at-risk establishments that have been examined | – National Strategy for Human Capital Development and Strengthening
– SDG 8 – UNGPs Articles 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 |
| 15. | Operations set for business sector | Inspect and monitor entertainment places/ businesses, establishments, and recruitment agencies, focusing on inspecting … work permits (in the case of migrant workers) | – Royal Thai Police
– Ministry of Labour – Ministry of Interior |
2019–2022 | – Number of employment/ recruitment licensees inspected
Number of establishments and migrant workers inspected |
– National Strategy for National Security.
– SDG 8 – UNGPs Articles 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 |
Pillar 2: Responsibilities of the business sector in respecting of human rights
2.2 Labour rights and welfare
- State enterprises and the business sector that use migrant workers should be responsible for the costs of recruiting labour and other expenses in accordance with the “employer pay principle”.
Pillar 3: Duties of the state and the business sector to provide remedy (Remedy)
|
No. |
Issues |
Activities |
Responsible agencies | Time-frame (2019–2022) | Indicators (wide frame) | Compliance with National Strategy/ SDGs/UNGPs |
| 1. | Complaints and petitions | Provide channels for complaints and hotlines in languages that migrant workers understand | – Ministry of the Interior
– Ministry of Justice – Ministry of Labour |
2019–2022 | Number of complaint channels and hotlines in languages that migrant workers understand | – National Strategy for Social Cohesion and Just Society
– National Strategy for Public Sector Rebalancing and Development – SDG 8 and 10 – UNGPs Articles 27, 28, 29 and 31 |
| 3. | Administration of Justice | Develop criteria for approval and selection of migrant workers from three countries (Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar) to be the language coordinators to facilitate migrant workers who enter into the justice system. The coordinators should be trained in order to perform duties correctly, fairly and efficiently | – Ministry of Labour | 2019–2022 | – Develop and improve criteria for selecting the coordinators Number of trainings for language coordinators | – National Strategy for Social Cohesion and Just Society
– National Strategy for Public Sector Rebalancing and Development – SDG 8, 10 and 16 – UNGPs Articles 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 31 |
| 5. | Remedies | Review criteria of compensation under the Act on Compensation for Injured Persons and the Damages and Expenses for the Accused in Criminal Cases B.E. 2544 (2001) and the Amendment (No. 2) B.E. 2559 (2016) to cover migrant workers that have been victims of crime. | – – Ministry of Justice | 2019–2022 | Meetings to review payment criteria for state compensation under the Act on Compensation for Injured Persons and the Damages and Expenses for the Accused in Criminal Cases B.E.
2544 (2001) and the Amendment (No. 2) B.E. 2559 (2016) to cover migrant workers that have been victims of crime |
– National Strategy for Public Sector Rebalancing and Development
– SDG 16 – UNGPs Articles 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 31 |
3.2 Action plan for community, land, natural resources and the environment
3.2.1 Overview of the situation
The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand is assigned by the government to develop industrial estates in three Special Economic Zone (SEZ) areas in three provinces: Sa Kaeo Industrial Estate, Sa Kaeo Province, Sadao Industrial Estate, Songkhla Province, and industrial estates in the Special Economic Zone in Tak Province. Each industrial estate established has studied the impact on environment, economy, society and community through the preparation of the environmental impact assessment report and use it as a tool to create preventative and alleviative measures towards environmental impact and to monitor environmental quality. One of the measures requires factories in the industrial estates to pay attention to the importance of hiring local labour which will help reduce migrant labour problems. But if using migrant workers is a necessity, the operator should choose only registered ones.