ABSTRACT
Worker representation and unions in Thailand have been weak, as demonstrated by a low unionisation rate. Workers have a limited involvement and wield very little bargaining power in labour relations and labour-related policymaking. Two factors account for this phenomenon: one is historical and the other more recent. First, labour had been suppressed during the anti-communist era amid the Cold War. This was coupled with the onset of labour-intensive industrialisation that advocated low wages and low labour rights. Second, globalisation is further weakening labour by the introduction of flexible employment and the increasing use of informal and migrant labour, which in effect exclude workers from formal labour representation. In response, workers have resorted to new forms of organised labour, such as the Unions Area Group (UAG) and the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee (TLSC). However, their influences remain limited, largely owing to the increasing flexibility in the forms of employment.
