On 7 July 2022, Sia Jampathong, president of the Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (TGLWF) of Thailand, and four student labour activists were indicted for violating pandemic restrictions on large gatherings during a protest outside the Government House in Bangkok in 2021.
Jampathong did not deny the protest breached the Emergency Decree and the Disease Control Act (precautions were taken, as they wore masks). She believed, however, that the authorities were selectively enforcing the rules to keep the labour movement in line. Jampathong and her fellow activists were targeted after leading a campaign to pay unpaid wages to 1,250 laid-off factory workers. The campaign proved successful and in May 2022 the company was forced to pay up.
Union busting
In December 2022, NXP Manufacturing in Thailand fired 13 union leaders on false charges.
The NXP Manufacturing Workers’ Union’s congress in October 2019 passed a resolution assigning a representative to act on the company’s failure to respect the collective agreement. In August 2020, the union filed a lawsuit over NXP’s non-compliance with the collective agreement at the central labour court. In February 2022, the union’s case was dismissed and the court ruled that the union did not have the right to sue.
Focusing on improving the relationship with the employer, the union decided not to appeal the ruling. In return, NXP accused union members of having falsified the congress minutes, a serious violation of company regulations, and dismissed 13 of them.