Child Labour in Thailand: Best Practice Guide

As discussed in Chapter 2, Thailand's ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, particularly the former, have been important lobbying tools for campaigners against child labour in Thailand, as has ILO Convention 29 against Forced Labour, which has been an important driving force for law reform and government action. The ratification of the Conventions occurred as a result of the triumph of the view of officials who see such conventions as useful for developing Thai law, rather than as an instrument which can only be signed once all aspects of the law comply with their provisions, for fear of negative international publicity.

In the area of as-yet unratified ILO conventions, however, it is the latter view which has generally prevailed, and it seems this situation is unlikely to change in the near future. There, may, however, have been a sufficient level of awareness and concern about child labour developed among key agencies and individuals that sufficient backing could be found for Thailand to ratify the proposed new standard against the most intolerable forms of child labour, particularly as there are no obvious legal provisions in Thailand which would contradict its likely provisions. Because of this situation, however, ratification may have little practical effect as international conventions have mainly been of use in lobbying for legal changes.

If, however, constitutional changes are successfully implemented in Thailand, and initiatives such as that of introducing an Parliamentary Human Rights Commission are implemented, international conventions, including ILO conventions, may take on a broader role. Given such mechanisms, the pool of committed and concerned NGOs and government officials would be well placed to use them to affect not only Thai law, but also the enforcement and interpretation of that law.

5.2. Bilateral and Multilateral Action

As the media survey outlined in Chapter 4 indicated, judging from the level of newspaper coverage, and the quick response by government spokespersons to reports of international concern about child labour in Thailand, trade sanctions and incentives would have potential to have a significant impact in Thailand, at least at the government level. Concerns about the European Union and United States Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) have been particularly marked. Reports of their potential establishment produce expressions of concern and promises for government action, but it is clear that even if instituted, very careful monitoring and evaluation would be required to determine if expression of good intentions and legal and regulatory provisions they encouraged were followed through.

As have other members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Thailand has, however, been strongly resistant to the inclusion of "social clauses" in any form in multilateral and bilateral agreements, including the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Additionally, Thailand has been involved with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) which has concentrated on trade liberalisation and facilitation.

Broadly it can be said that in the short to medium-term Thailand appears unlikely to be the subject of any significant bilateral or multilateral trade sanctions, and as a state in which legal provisions are, or are soon likely to be, in line with broad international norms, these are anyway unlikely to have a significant impact on the actual situation of child labour in Thailand.

As many of Thailand's main exports, including both manufactured goods and agricultural produce, are rarely clearly identified with the nation (often having multinational, Japanese or Korean brand names) any attempts at consumer boycotts, as occurred last year with the small, individually-initiated United States-based Don't Buy Thai effort, linked to child prostitution, are likely to have little impact.

5.3 Outside Technical and Financial Assistance

Broadly, as is evident from the information contained in Chapter 3, outside technical and financial assistance is vitally important to a wide range of child labour projects, particularly those conducted by the government. The availability of these funds for child labour projects has encouraged both government and non-government organisations to become involved in the issue, and has enabled concerned individuals to develop institutions and structures to work on child labour issues. Technical support and information to broaden awareness and understanding child issues is another important function of international organisations.

In a situation not restricted to child labour issues, but covering most aspects of the Thai government work, very strict and detailed guidelines cover the ways in which government funds can be spent. Tight and frequently unrealistic limits are set on the amount of money which can be spent on tasks such as translation, editing and holding meetings, which frequently mean these tasks are simply not possible under the government budget. Additionally, each organisational unit must submit detailed budget plans for approval each year, and moving outside these to meet unexpected demands or take up unpredicted opportunities is extremely difficult.

As a result of these restrictions, government organisations frequently depend on international funding which can be utilised in a more flexible manner than line budgets to complete a great deal of important work. It can be used to provide honorariums for meetings, without which it may be impossible for many key individuals or grassroots level representatives to attend, to pay for translation of key international documents, to provide scholarships and training for key people, and for many other important purposes.

One difficulty, however, which many organisations find in working with international donors is that frequently there is some requirement to handle material, instructions or conversation, or produce documents in English rather than simply in Thai. For grassroots NGOs, and even for government organisations, this can be a very significant, even insurmountable, barrier.

Even if such a requirement is not made, international donors usually have reporting and accounting conditions in the Thai language which some organisations find difficult to fulfill, due to differing cultural norms and expectations which can result in considerable frustration and misunderstandings. Grassroots workers focused on immediate pressing problems may find it difficult to understand and meet documentation and accounting requirements and strict spending criteria, yet of necessity international donors must have such controls.

A survey of projects involving international organisations suggests the most successful working arrangements include those where the organisation has a full-time representative office in Thailand which is in regular contact with recipient organisations. This allows the donor or technical support supplier to provide advice and support and increase the level of understanding of the obstacles and difficulties faced, as well as successful methods of overcoming these. Particularly in the case of NGOs and government organisations operating at the provincial or regional level, international organisations can be very valuable in providing links to national-level structures and disseminating information about national activities and plans, as well as those conducted in other provinces and regions, which may not otherwise be available to grassroots workers. Developing sustainable, effective ties to produce these results frequently takes a number of years, which presents a problem to international agencies which frequently operate on short funding and support cycles of one or two years.

The IPEC programme is the primary source of both levels of assistance, and has been critical in raising awareness of child labour issues, developing a core of high-level, concerned officials and active NGOs. It has also funded notably successful pilot programmes in a number of areas which offer valuable models for future work.

As already identified, where problems have been encountered has been in the development from pilot projects to full-scale projects integrated within a broad programme framework. While this is correctly perceived as predominately the responsibility of the Thai government, it is obvious that more assistance and support is needed to achieve this aim. To institute major national and regional programmes, to build on the fine work already done, and the lessons learned, IPEC (and other) efforts may need to be more narrowly focused, with concern from the earliest stages of even pilot programmes of the likelihood of their developing further. Ideally, clear timetables for each stage of a project from piloting to national implementation (where appropriate) should be set before the project begins.

Increasing awareness is already obvious within IPEC and among other international partners on the important issue of use and choice of research topics, which must not only provide information, but should also be clearly connected to actions to address problems identified. As noted under Chapter 3.3 above, in the past some excellent research has been conducted in, for example, children's involvement in the fishing industry, but has been followed up by little more than some limited and as yet ineffective advocacy.

Almost universally, at least some government and non-government workers, particularly at the grassroots level, are aware of the areas in which some of the most serious child labour problems lie, and their knowledge and experience should be tapped in identifying key areas of research focus, with some idea of general approaches which might be used to take action identified before research begins. Research findings can then be used to refine and develop these concepts to produce effective pilot and then broad-reaching programmes. Researchers involved in such a project would then also be in an ideal position to carry out effective monitoring and evaluation of project results.

To achieve such a coordinated approach to research, and to tying together pilot projects and their broader implementation, IPEC, through the direction of the National Steering Committee on Child Labour, might attempt, using the framework of the National Plan of Action (1997-2001), to be more directive in its work, proposing and promoting certain activities or projects, rather than, as largely occurs at the moment, simply responding to proposals put before it. To effectively implement such an approach, further strengthening of the Steering Committee's secretariat may be necessary. This is already the direction in which IPEC is moving in its second Biennium, with a focus on mainstreaming child labour projects and issues, but strengthening of this trend may be needed, and is certainly planned for the Third Biennium.

Additionally, it is clear that more use might be made within Thailand of ILO's technical support capacities, both from the East Asia Multidisciplinary Advisory Team, and from the Geneva office. A clear screening process might identify other project in which technical inputs from these sources would be valuable, although this needs to be done in a sensitive manner, so that local partners do not feel their skills and experience are being downplayed.

As will have been obvious from the projects reported above, although IPEC is the major outside partner in funding and providing technical assistance, other agencies, notably UNICEF, are also involved in this field. Some informal consultation and division of labour already occurs between these agencies, with, for example, UNICEF through its Children in Especially Difficult Circumstances programme focusing on children in the commercial sex industry and street children, while IPEC has focused on child labour in industrial and commercial settings, and in programmes to prevent children migrating into circumstances in which they are at high risk of becoming child labour. Other agencies have also worked in particularly specialised areas, such as Save the Children Fund, which has focused on children of families of scavengers around Bangkok and Redd Banna which developed a close relationship with the Foundation for Child Development, supporting the establishment of its Child Labour Home at Hua Lumphong, pioneering international support for child labour NGOs in the later 1980s.

At present, however, what cooperation and coordination that occurs is ad hoc and informal. Particularly in the area of prevention of northern girls entering the commercial sex industry there is considerable overlap, which sometimes results in inefficient use of resources. Additionally, there are no established forums for the exchange of information, ideas and experiences which might enable these agencies, and the organisations they fund, to benefit from each others' experiences.

The establishment of a committee of funding and technical assistance agencies to meet regularly, perhaps twice yearly, would be perhaps the simplest and most appropriate structure for such exchanges. A partial model for such a structure exists in the area of women's issues, with a committee of Bangkok-based United Nations agencies funding projects on women's issues in Thailand meeting twice-yearly. IPEC would be the natural lead agency in establishing such a committee for child labour.

Additionally, funding and technical assistance agencies, in particular IPEC, are in an ideal position to facilitate cooperation and information sharing among both government and non-government implementing agencies which they assist. The ILO/IPEC partner meeting held to assist in the preparation of this report was an ideal model, with a wide range of workers in the field spending two days learning about each others' activities and experiences, and making personal links likely to be valuable in the future. Annual meetings along similar lines would assist in developing and promoting these links and future cooperation. Some effort in this direction has been made in combination with Thammasart University training courses for child labour workers, but a specialised information exchange/experience sharing session would also be valuable.

5.4 Other International Action

Media attention to statements by well-recognised international individuals and organisations suggests these may have some impact in Thailand. Among recent examples are the visit of Mrs. Hillary Clinton, wife of the United States President, to anti-child labour and child prostitution projects in Thailand, and that of Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, who visited the Foundation for Children's Development during a state visit. The annual United States State Department Country Report on Human Rights Practices, which in 1996 and 1997 highlighted child labour issues, also usually receives significant coverage in Thai media.

As these are isolated occasions, however, rather than part of concerted, continuing campaigns, while such statements and their reporting may be of some assistance in raising awareness of the issue of child labour, their long-term impact is very small. The degree of reaction statements by such international personalities attract does indicate, however, that a concerted, long-term, targeted international campaign might have a significant impact on views of child labour and action against it, particularly by influencing senior decisionmakers in the government.

Most of the multinational companies operating in Thailand are not direct employers of child workers, as they primarily require at least semi-skilled labourers in factories utilising relatively high levels of technology. They may, however, use sub-contractors who may be employers of child labour, but few if any of the multinational companies now operating in Thailand are known to have codes of conduct addressing the issue.

There are attempts being made to develop a voluntary code of practice in the garment sector, but in view of the relatively fragmented nature of this group of companies, the severe economic pressures upon it which have particularly severely affected large manufacturers, lack of resources or systems to promote such a code, even if it were introduced, this is unlikely to have much impact.

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