Prosecution of union leaders for participating in strikes
In 2022, Sawit Kaewvarn, president of the State Railway Union of Thailand (SRUT), and twelve other national and local union leaders remained wrongfully imprisoned. The SRUT workers had been ruthlessly pursued by the State Railway of Thailand through the legal system for carrying out a national rail safety campaign following a fatal train derailment in October 2009 at Khao Tao Station. The Thai authorities pursued a vendetta against the workers. Since November 2018, the monthly salaries of seven SRUT leaders have been deducted to pay fines of 24 million baht (US$726,116) to SRT based on the decision of the Supreme Labour Court in 2017. The thirteen trade unionists were currently serving a three-year prison sentence.