Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 1992, publiée 79ème session CIT (1992)

The Committee notes the Government's report and the discussion which took place in the Conference Committee in 1991.

In previous comments the Committee noted allegations brought before the United Nations Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities that children were bought and sold in Thailand for work in private houses, restaurants, factories and brothels, that shops had specialised in the sale of children and teenagers, that child catchers and recruiters were operating in the country and that, although laws for the protection of children existed, there was a lack of enforcement by police.

The Government has previously reported on certain legal, institutional, preventive, protective, rehabilitation and enforcement measures taken. The Government referred in particular to notification No. 12 of January 1990 by the Ministry of the Interior, to reinforce protection of working children from illegal abuse, and referred to prosecutions for exploitation or illegal use of child labour (11 in 1988, two in 1989, four from October 1989 through May 1990, resulting, in 13 cases, in the imposition of fines and in one case in imprisonment).

In relation to information provided by the Government on inspections carried out and on action taken against exploiters of children, it appeared to the Committee that measures taken were somewhat limited in scope and the sanctions applied not commensurate with the physical and moral harm incurred by the children.

The Committee requested the Government to provide further information on measures taken to ascertain that children are not sold and purchased, and to remove children from nightspots and brothels and from illegal employment in private houses, hotels, restaurants and factories as well as information on complaints of child abuse, on inspections carried out, and on prosecutions undertaken and penalties imposed, including copies of court decisions.

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report of 28 February 1992 on measures taken or envisaged with a view to eliminating exploitation or illegal use of child labour. The Government indicates that it has taken the following initiatives: - a bill to protect children, under which the sanction of imprisonment applicable to offenders would be raised from six months to one to five years, has been approved by the Cabinet and is in the process of submission to the National Assembly; - a proposal has been made to revise the Act on employment service and job- seekers' protection (BE 2528), increasing the imprisonment term from six months to one to six years for child abductors and recruiters of employment agencies or shops involved in the sale of children and teenagers; - a request has been made on 5 November 1991 by the Minister of the Interior to the Permanent Secretary for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Public Health to order hospitals under their control to gather names of patients who have suffered injuries caused by improper working conditions or been victims of physical abuse, and to report to the Department of Labour; - a "hot line" centre has been established by the Department of Labour under the Ministry of the Interior for receiving complaints; - the labour service in Bangkok has been restructured: labour inspectors of the central office have been assigned to stations in 36 district areas of Bangkok so as to acquaint them more with local conditions and problems to solve emerging problems "on the spot". Responsibility of labour inspectors has been entrusted to city officials and local administrators throughout the country (Ministry of Interior Order No. 9/1992 of 7 January 1992); - on 8 January 1992 the Public Prosecutor filed charges at the Criminal Court against the owner of an unlicensed paper cups factory, from which the police department rescued in October 1991 28 workers aged from 9 to 20. The charges refer to detention and torture of workers, illegal operation of a factory, employment of foreigners without permission, non-observance of conditions of employment relating to hours of work, holidays, employment of minors, etc.; - employment of children as prostitutes has so far been banned by eight successive Thai Governments. The Ministry of Justice has increased penalties for those who torture children and cause loss of lives. The penalty under the criminal law has increased under the new prostitution bill whereby supervisors or managers of places of prostitution or controllers of prostitutes are liable to imprisonment from three to seven years; - in rural areas the Ministry of the Interior has provided measures on protection against employment deception in the provinces: (provide clear employment information to young job-seekers in cooperation with rural agencies and rural government offices; create public awareness; prepare programmes of vocational guidance for children and teenagers); - the policy to expand education from grade 6 to 9, started in 1989, is being pursued and expanded progressively (119 schools in 1989, 1,366 in 1991, 6,500 in 1995) with the aim of providing free education nationwide by 1997.

The Committee has also taken note of the statement by the Prime Minister to the 11th Asian Regional Conference (26 November-2 December 1991) according to which it was his firm conviction that the place for a child was in school and not in a factory; that it was not sufficient to wait for economic restructuring to redress the exploitation of child labour, and that he was determined to do away with child labour and safeguard the future of the underprivileged children in the country.

The Committee notes with interest this policy statement as well as the measures envisaged or already adopted to alleviate exploitation of children.

The Committee hopes that the Government will provide further information on steps taken or envisaged to review, strengthen and enforce legislation providing for protection against all forms of forced labour exploitation of children, and to punish exploiters. The Government is requested to provide in particular information on the following matters:

(a) Legislation: legislative measures adopted by the National Assembly following proposals by the Government (Bill to protect children; revision of the Act on employment services and jobseekers' protection; anti-prostitution Bill); any other draft proposals submitted or envisaged, in particular as concerns the reinforcement of sanctions applicable.

(b) Inspection: labour inspections carried out, findings of inspectors, results achieved through the decentralised structure in Bangkok and the implication of city officials and local administrators; any measures, budgetary and administrative etc., adopted to reinforce labour inspection, increase the number of inspectors and the means at their disposal, and providing them with a specific training. The Committee notes in this connection the "project on prevention and protection centre for child labour", to be established with the financial support of the ILO, which provides for the strengthening of the labour inspection system (including advice to employers and prosecution of infringements).

(c) Police action: the Committee notes that the children from the paper cups factory were rescued by the Crime Suppression Division. The Committee hopes that the Government will be able to indicate measures envisaged or adopted to train and educate the local police and to provide them with financial support in order to motivate them in the search, pursuit and arrest of child exploiters and to lessen reported collusion between police and exploiters.

(d) Job placement agencies: number of private job placement agencies controlled and/or closed; creation of state job agencies and results achieved.

(e) Complaints: complaints received and action taken, in particular on those received through the hot line centre, as well as cases reported by hospitals.

(f) Prosecutions, sanctions: information on the prosecutions engaged against exploiters, and on sanctions imposed.

(g) Rehabilitation programmes and measures to help rescued children (including the increasing number of migrant children illegally brought into the country) to avoid their falling back into the hands of exploiters.

The Committee considers that forced labour exploitation of children, be it in forced child labour, child prostitution, child pornography, be it in factories, sweatshops, brothels, private houses or elsewhere, is one of the worst forms of forced labour. It must be fought energetically and punished severely. Measures to be adopted should seek to break the circle of practical impunity, to create an environment where any actual or potential exploiter and accomplice face severe punishment. The Committee recalls that, under Article 25 of the Convention, forced labour shall be punishable as a penal offence, and the Government must ensure that penalties imposed by law are really adequate and strictly enforced.

The Committee trusts that the Government will take the necessary measures.

[The Government is asked to provide full particulars to the Conference at its 79th Session and to report in detail for the period ending 30 June 1992.]