Protect labour rights, civil groups tell PM

The government should de-criminalise defamation and protect the rights of 14 Myanmar migrant workers and other human rights defenders targeted with criminal defamation for drawing attention to alleged labour rights violations, civil society groups say.

Fortify Rights joined by 86 other civil society organisations, businesses, and parliamentarians yesterday published an open letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chano-cha, calling on the government to protect freedom of expression, labour rights, and the rights of human rights defenders.

“Businesses in Thailand are increasingly using defamation complaints to target critics and deflect attention from serious allegations of wrongdoing,” said Amy Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights. “Thai authorities need to stand up for free speech and workers’ rights.”

Thammakaset Company Limited — a Thai-owned poultry company — filed a defamation complaint against 14 workers on Oct 6, last year claiming the workers damaged the reputation of the company by submitting a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand on July 7 last year. The Don Muang Sub-District Court in Bangkok is scheduled to consider the complaint on Oct 4.

In the complaint to the NHRCT, the workers claimed the company failed to pay minimum and overtime wages, forced them to work excessive hours, and confiscated their identity documents.

On Sept 14, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court order for Thammakaset Co Ltd to pay a total of 1.7 million baht in compensation to the workers for violating their rights.

Thammakaset Co Ltd also filed a complaint against Andy Hall, a British human rights defender, on Nov 4, 2016, alleging criminal defamation and violations of the Computer Crimes Act for his social media comments on the case. The Bangkok South Criminal Court will assess whether the complaint has sufficient merit to proceed to trial on Dec 15.

The open letter called on the Prime Minister’s Office to “ensure the right to freedom of expression for workers, activists and others who report on human rights and labour rights abuses allegedly committed by companies during their business operations” and de-criminalise defamation. The letter also called on the government to enforce labour protections for all workers, including migrant workers.

“Gen Prayut should make good on his promises to ensure businesses in Thailand uphold basic rights and protections. Enforcing labour rights and protecting the right of workers to complain would be a good start,” said Ms Smith.