Triumph union workers protest at company headquarters

Sunday, 21 March 2010

Triumph union workers protest at company headquarters

Sat, 02/08/2008 - 00:00

Prachatai

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On July 31, about 400 Triumph labour union members protested against Body Fashion (Thailand) Ltd at its headquarters on Petchaburi Rd in Bangkok, after the company fired the leader of the union for wearing a campaign t-shirt challenging the lèse majesté law.

Wanpen Wongsombat, member of the labour union committee, said that at about 11 pm on the previous night, the Deputy Governor of Samut Prakan, where the factory is located, had proposed to both the company and the union to reconsider, but Pairoj Soponsuksathit and Kenneth Marshall representing the company still would not shift their position. So the workers came to the headquarters to pressure the executives to enter negotiations, while at the same time, other workers also gathered in front of the factory in Bang Phli, Samut Prakan.

Wanpen said the company did not care about the labour union. The company first fired the union leader Jitra Kotchadej, and during subsequent negotiations it also planned to seek court orders for disciplinary punishments, which Wanpen feared might include the maximum penalty of dismissal, for the all 20 union committee members, and to suspend 25 leading members from work for two weeks.

Later the workers decided to walk to Siam Paragon to join another 500 Triumph underwear salespersons who came from various outlets.

About 6-7 students from Ramkamhaeng and Chulalongkorn universities joined the protest. One Economics freshman from Chulalongkorn said that the company should not have done what it had done. What Jitra had said on the TV programme was about the issue of abortion, not about the t-shirt she was wearing.

“The t-shirt thing is like a mountain made out of a molehill”, said a Political Science junior from Chulalongkorn, adding that if this was allowed to happen once, more would follow.

Comments

by somsak (not verified) (125.24.188.127  ) ... Tue, 12/08/2008 - 00:00.

What a stupid union

What a stupid union leader she is! Clearly lacking in the sense of priolity as union leader. She should not have draged her co-workers into her ideological struggle, which has nothing to do with their welfare. Step down and ask your comrade left-wing intellectuals to take care of you.