ADVOCATING BETTER LAWS
FOR THAI INFORMAL WORKERS

By Homenet Thailand

Protecting Homeworkers

Homebased work consti-tutes unique employment and working conditions different from general employment. Homenet Thailand, through long years of advocacy, has always maintained that home-based work therefore deserves specific provisions distinct from those provided by the Labour Pro-tection Act B.E. 2541, which is why a Ministerial Regulation on the Protection of Homeworkers is necessary.

In the draft being promoted by advocacy groups, “Home-based work” means ”jobs provided by an employer to an employee to complete, assemble, repair or transmute into agreed forms of products at the employee’s home or in places that are not part of the workplace of the employer in return for a wage.”

“Employer” refers to:

(1) A manufacturer that provides a job and materials for an employee to complete at home and agrees to pay for the finished work.

(2) A subcontractor who takes a job from a manufacturer and subcontracts it to an employee to complete, assemble, repair or transmute into end products and takes back the products from the employee to the manufacturer, regardless of whether the subcontractor also brings money over to the employee or not.

“Employee” means an individual or a group of individuals that take the jobs and work at home in order to earn wages.

In the draft, an employer who provides an employee work and materials to complete at home shall notify the Labour Inspector in advance of the assignment date by submitting a form as prescribed by the Director General. S/he shall prepare an employment contract, a copy of which is given to the employee.

An employment contract shall contain: 1)Date and place at which the employment contract is signed; 2)First name and last name, age and address of both the employer and the employee; 3) Location of the workplace of the employer and the employee; 4) Type, nature and conditions of jobs assigned to the employee; 5) Date and place at which the employer hands over the job to the employee; 6) Wage rate; 7) Date and place at which the wages shall be paid; and 8) Date and place at which the employer shall take finished work from the employee.


An employer shall pay a wage on the mutually agreed upon date or not after the passage of fifteen days as calculated from the date the finished work is given back to the employer.

An employer shall not deduct wages unless it is a deduction for the purpose of 2) paying monies as provided for by law; 2) paying the debts of a savings cooperative or some other cooperative which has the same characteristics of those of a savings cooperative, or debts which are for the beneficial welfare of the employees solely, wherein consent has been obtained in advance from the employee; and 3) compensation to the employer for damages to machines, equipment or material which had been caused by the employee deliberately or due to gross negligence, wherein consent has been obtained from the employee.

An employer is prohibited from assigning jobs that make use of explosive, inflammable, hazardous or poisonous materials. S/he shall establish regulations and make available tools and equipment for work safety.

Ensuring the Rights of Domestic Workers

Although there can be positive aspects of the current situation of domestic workers in Thailand, there are also negative aspects such as low wages, poor living conditions, bad food, etc., as portrayed in media. Needless to say, these problems must be attended to.

Domestic workers are protected by the Labor Protection Act B.E. 2541 in certain respects, but not that much. There should be gradually increasing efforts to pressure for more protection through policy formulation to obtain the following conditions:

• That domestic work should not entail health risks,
  does not breach laws and basic morality;
• That the minimum wage for domestic work
  should not be less than 2/3 of the minimum wage
  enforced for labor in industrial sectors;
• That daily working hours should not exceed 10 hours;
• That holidays should include days of absence, and that there should be at least two days of rest;
• That accommodations must be arranged properly in accordance with what the employers can afford;
• That medical services must be provided when needed;
• That a written working contract should be required; and
• That employers refrain from venting abusive words or
  using physical punishment against domestic workers.

The main strategy to address the issue should be focused on making domestic work visible and accessible. It should be systematized to create transparency. There should be an inquiry into the working conditions of domestic workers and they should be provided capacity building support. The format of employment should be formalized and become more professional through skills training and allowing workers to commute between their homes and workplaces.

The issue of children working as domestic workers must be considered holistically in order to find the right solutions for each particular aspect. Different measures should be employed particularly the positive ones. All parties should be encouraged to be part of problem solving efforts, and legislation should not be taken as the sole solution. That there are a number of generous employers should be taken positively. This way, children will benefit the most. All agencies should increase their services and give consultation to these children in order that they can rely on themselves, or at least are aware of the agencies from which they can ask for help. In particular, young children and foreign children should be protected and the media should pay attention to this .

The campaign should be organized positively in order to create solidarity with the employers and encourage them to take roles in supporting the development of children working as domestic workers; i.e., by assisting them to get an education, and to develop in their respective ways. Their basic rights and dignity must be respected. There should be attempts to identify measures that discourage employers from employ-ing foreign children as domestic workers, and encourage them to employ adult domestic workers instead. The children should be provided with skills training in order to have more choices.

The end result should be the passing and implementation of a draft law for the development and protection of domestic workers

Protecting Stall Sellers
and Street Vendors

A study has been initiated in response to an order to prohibit street vendors from selling in front of Chulalongkorn Hospital, both on Rama IV road and Lumpini Park. The issue began with the ITV report that exposed the scandalous extortion of money by the officers of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) from the vendors. The researchers have been commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission to conduct this preliminary study and to propose possible solutions. Based on a case study report entitled “Problems and Solutions for Stall Sellers and Street Vendors: The Case of Stall Sellers and Street Vendors in front of Chulalongkorn Hospital” carried out by Komsan Bodhikong, lecturer of the Faculty of Law, Sukhothai Dhammathirat University, and Boonyarit Moongjongklang, lecturer of the Department of Agricultural Promotion, Sukhothai Dhammathirat University, the following recommendations are offered:

1. The attitude of concerned officers in the implementation of regulations and laws concerning stall sellers and street vendors should be adjusted. They should deem that even though these vendors may act in violation of regulations concerning public sanitation and orderliness, they are compelled by economic reasons to do so, and they are not criminals. Their occupation contributes to the economic growth of the nation and the capital flow in the economy. The present use of force to treat these vendors ought to be replaced by other more appropriate measures.
2. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) should issue clear and succinct regulations as to the control of stall sellers and street vendors and see to it that they shall be implemented stringently as to the permission and prohibition of selling in particular areas in order to avoid the problems discussed here.
3. Efforts should be made to expedite the registration of stall sellers and street vendors in order to appropriately control them and for the sake of complete implementation of relevant regulations and laws.
4. The BMA should tackle the problems based on proper and systematic study and enable vendors to be part of the community. The stalls and vending gears should be designed and arranged to enhance the beautiful environment. The vendors should be allowed to be part of the efforts to improve the geographical setting of the city, instead of being removed.
5. The BMA should stringently and seriously pursue due legal actions for disciplinary, civil and criminal offense against corrupt government officers who misappropriate money from the vendors.
6. The National Human Rights Commission should submit the results of this inquiry to concerned authorities including the BMA, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security in order to collectively identify long-term solutions to the problem. NHRC should file a complaint with the Office of Ombudsmen to initiate an inquiry into the alleged violation of people’s rights and liberties by the exercise of power of the government officers, and submit the report to the National Police Office and the National Counter Corruption Commission to pursue due legal actions.