Dear Sisters and Brothers 

We are the workers of Triumph International (Thailand) and Body Fashion (Thailand), German owned companies, which have production facilities in Bang-phli Industrial Estate Samutprakarn  Tel. 02 3153283. The company products include lingerie and swimsuit Triumph®, sloggi®, Valisère® and HOM® etc, most of which for exports.  On 29 July, 2008 the management called the union president Ms Jitra Kotchadej for a meeting with Mr Kenneth Marshall, a Canadian national, who is the managing director of the company in Thailand.  The meeting took place at the company headquarters located at 1126/2 Vanich 2 Building  New Petchburi Road Bangkok. At this meeting, the management informed the union president the company had sought a court order to dismiss her and the court has given the order on 8 July 2008, effective 30 July 2008; and that the company would not pay her any compensation.  The union president was charged to have damaged the company’s reputation at the occasion which she was wearing a T-shirt with the campaign slogan ‘not standing is not a criminal; different thinking is no crime’ when she was invited to go on air by NBT television; the session which she joined concerned ‘unwanted pregnancy’ and ‘abortion right’. While the case was being proceeded in court, Ms Jitra never received any court summon nor had she been informed by the company management on their attempt to dismiss her through court order.  Nothing more can be said apart from the company’s intention to destroy the union and violate her basic human rights. 

On 30 July, 2008 at 7.00, 3000 workers engaged in a collective action in which they stopped work and joined the union rally to protest the company for victimizing the union president. The union workers proposed 3 demands:

1. Immediate reinstatement of the union president Ms Jitra Kotchadej back to her job without any conditions

2. Company’s guarantee on non retaliation against union workers including all forms of disciplinary actions

3. Disciplinary action against the management staff whose bahaviour entails union busting and corruption 

Until today thousands of workers have staged protest rallies outside the factory gates to put pressure on the employer; the workers demand is for the company to recognize the basic human rights of the workers.     

What is happening at Triumph constitutes unfair labour practice and the union calls upon the company to stop abusing the workers’ basic human rights, freedom of speech; and do not make use of the current political chaos in Thai society to harass the union workers.  All the union workers and committee members should be reinstated unconditionally.     

END the UNFAIR LABOUR PRACTICES AND UNION BUSTING! 

STOP VICTIMISING UNION WORKERS AND ACTIVISTS.   

12 August, 2008