Act NOW!

Thailand: Migrant workers have the right to workers' compensation

Written by HRDF's MJP

Wednesday, 13 October 2010 14:24

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

Sorry if repeat posting on this, as SERC already sent this issue out to networks and Labourstart
publisised in an email release also....

Please consider to support the State Enterprise Workers Relations Confederation of Thailand’s
(SERC) online Labourstart campaign launched just now. The campaign demands the Royal
Thai Government allow migrant workers from Burma access to the Workmen’s Compensation
Fund and work accident benefits following accidents at work incurred in Thailand. Migrants from
Burma continue to be discriminatorily and unlawfully denied such benefits, as they have been
since 2001.
For more information see below and weblink. The Human Rights and Development Foundation
(HRDF) have been working closely with SERC on these campaign issues since 2006.

Please do kindly send this information on widely to all networks/supporters and encourage their
taking part to make this campaign more successful also!

Thankyou.
HRDF's Migrant Justice Programme
migrantjustice@hrdfoundation.org

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http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=783
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Act NOW!
Thailand: Migrant workers have the right to workers' compensation

At least 2 million migrants from Burma work in low-skilled, dirty and dangerous jobs in Thailand
from which they frequently incur accidents and disease. Since 2001, Thailand has discriminated
against migrant work accident victims from Burma by denying them access to the Workmen’s
Compensation Fund (WCF), even though all workers regardless of national origin are legally
eligible for access to this fund. These work accident victims are denied access to work accident
compensation from the WCF, rehabilitation assistance and are also denied the right to register
as disabled if they suffer permanent disabilities at work. This denial is on the basis that most of
these workers were smuggled into Thailand “illegally,” despite more than 1 million of them
registering to legally work. The State Enterprise Workers Relations Confederation (SERC), an
affiliate of the ITUC, has since 2007 demanded an end to this systematic discrimination against
all migrants in Thailand to ensure their access to the WCF equally with Thai workers. The ILO’s
Committee of Experts in February 2010 responded to a SERC complaint on this issue stating
denial of access to the WCF to migrants from Burma breaches ILO Convention 19 on equality of
accident compensation. Thailand then announced plans to set up an insurance scheme
managed by private insurance companies to provide compensation to migrant work accident
victims. SERC disagrees with this proposal as it is discriminatory and unlawful, but despite our

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Act NOW! Thailand: Migrant workers have the right to workers' compensation

Written by HRDF's MJP

Wednesday, 13 October 2010 14:24

protests, the Government continues to push ahead with this scheme.

You can help! Type in your name and email address, then click on 'Send Message' on the
bottom of this page.
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Your union/organization:     

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Type in your message here - or just use the existing message.

I am appalled by the Royal Thai Government’s (RTG) systematic and inhumane discrimination
in denying migrant work accident compensation victims from Burma access to work accident
compensation from the Social Security Office’s Workmen’s Compensation Fund (WCF), as well
as denying them disability registration and rehabilitation assistance. This rejection of basic
rights breaches ILO Convention 19 as well as the UN Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination, both of which the RTG has ratified. In support of the State
Enterprise Workers Relations Confederation of Thailand’s (SERC) ongoing campaign, I request
that the RTG: (1) Immediately revoke discriminatory regulations preventing migrant worker
access to the WCF; (2) Strategise, together with labour unions, NGOs and migrant workers to
solve problems currently faced by migrants to ensure they can access rights provided to them
under the WCF; and (3) Immediately drop all plans to set up a special insurance scheme to pay
work accident compensation to migrants, given such plans are discriminatory and in breach of
international human rights standards.

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amporn@labour.mail.go.th,pirapan_s@yahoo.com,minister@mfa.go.th,
issara.s@m-society.go.th,jirasuk@doe.go.th,sujitrab@sso.go.th

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