Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2000, publiée 89ème session CIT (2001)

1.  The Committee notes with interest the detailed information communicated by the Government, as well as the comments on the report made by the Employers’ Confederation of Thailand which were communicated by the Government. Finally, the Committee has noted with interest the implementation reports for 1997-98 and 1998-99 of the ILO’s International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), which is working actively in Thailand with the support of the Government and other constituents.

I.  Prostitution

2.  The Committee had asked in previous comments for detailed information on the application of the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act of 1996. It notes from the report that the Department of Public Welfare has established a certain number of primary admittance centres and occupation development centres under the Act, and issued several decisions on how they are to work. The Government indicates that awareness-raising and other sensitization programmes have been put into place, and the groundwork laid for cooperation among various agencies. The Committee notes from the report that 59 victims of prostitution were admitted to these centres in April 2000.

3.  The Committee has noted this information with interest. It requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the activities of these centres over a longer period. It also requests the Government to indicate whether some of those taking advantage of the centres are children, and what proportion of those having resort to this process can be said to have been engaged in prostitution by force or constraint.

4.  The Committee also notes the initiation by IPEC of the Mekong Delta project on trafficking of women and children, covering six countries including Thailand, and other initiatives to prevent girls from moving into the sex trades. The IPEC report also refers to programmes to strengthen coordination at the provincial level to prevent child prostitution and cross-border trafficking, and to combat a tendency for children who are smuggled into Thailand to move into the sex trade. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the effects of these programmes and the degree to which they are being taken over by government services.

5.  Preventive measures.  The Committee also notes the information provided through IPEC concerning the initiatives which have been taken on this question. It notes in particular the awareness-raising and training projects carried out by IPEC in the north of the country, and hopes the Government will provide more information and data on these programmes and on the effect they are having. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the preventive programmes being carried out by the Ministry of Education in particular, with IPEC assistance, which the Committee understands has been providing scholarships to a large number of girls (17,395 during 1997-99, according to information received from IPEC), with a view to giving them alternatives to the sex trade. Please indicate the current size of this programme, the number of girls benefiting from it at the time of the report, and the impact it has had.

6.  The Committee notes the comments of the Employers’ Confederation of Thailand on this issue, to the effect that the problem of child prostitution should be solved by adjusting the social structure to eliminate the gap between the very poor and the wealthy, and hopes the Government will continue to provide information in its future reports in this respect.

7.  Please indicate what measures are being taken to reduce demand for the sex trade affecting both adults and children. The Committee notes in this respect that measures taken in any one area to reduce the vulnerability of young people to recruitment for the sex trade, ultimately will have no overall effect if demand continues at high levels.

II.  Other forced child labour

8.  In its previous observation the Committee noted the adoption of the Labour Protection Act of 1998, section 44 of which raised the minimum age for employment to 15 years. It asked for information on whether this legislation applied to the informal sector, particularly the agricultural sector, domestic work and self-employed workers, and requested the Government to provide information on the practical application of the Act. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the legislation does not apply to the informal sector. As concerns agriculture, the Government has stated that agriculture is governed by rural customs and its own traditions, and that there are not many in this sector with an employment relationship. For domestic workers, the Government has stated that, because these workers must stay in homes, it is difficult to establish regulations concerning their conditions of work, but they are covered by laws on sexual harassment, leave and equal remuneration. Finally, the Government has stated that self-employment cannot be covered. While noting the practical difficulty of applying legislation to these sectors, the Committee recalls that the Convention applies to them. It hopes the Government will indicate what measures it is taking or has contemplated to extend this protection to workers in the informal sector, and to prevent forced child labour also in situations where no employment relationship exists.

9.  The Employers’ Confederation of Thailand has referred in its observations to an action programme it has launched on "Strengthening the capacity of the Employers’ Confederation of Thailand to prevent child labour through the creation of an employers’ best practice guide and child-friendly employers’ network and the facilitation of vocational training and apprentice schemes", with the cooperation of IPEC. The Committee welcomes this initiative and looks forward to learning more of its effects.

10.  In this connection as well, the Committee notes the information in the IPEC reports on its activities more generally. Information on severe forms of child labour is often associated with that of child prostitution, but the Committee hopes the Government will indicate in its next report the measures it is taking, in cooperation with IPEC and otherwise, to eliminate forced child labour throughout the country, also in areas other than the sex trade.

III.  Law enforcement

11.  Inspection.  In its previous observation the Committee noted the Police and Labour Inspection Cooperation Project, which the Government has indicated in its latest report was an ad hoc project carried out for one year only. It also referred to the Child Labour Visit Project, which was intended to help parents to locate children who had migrated to other parts of the country; and notes that through this project six children were located. The Committee also notes the information provided on the number of labour inspections during 1999, some of which uncovered under-age workers of 13 and 14 years old, resulting in warnings and a small number of prosecutions. In addition, the Government’s report has also provided information on activities of prevention, protection and awareness raising, intended in particular to prevent child labour. No information has been provided on inspections which may have discovered cases of forced labour, of adults or of children, which would fall within the coverage of the present Convention, and the Committee hopes the Government will provide information on any such cases. The Committee has also noted the protective measures listed in the report, particularly the child labour exploitation hotline which has resulted in inspections, warnings and prosecutions.

12.  Prosecutions.  The Committee had asked in its previous observation for information on prosecutions and sanctions imposed for illegal employment of children and prostitution under the applicable laws. The Government has provided figures for prosecutions under the Labour Protection Act of 1998 which resulted in fines being imposed on 30 persons; two persons being punished under the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act of 1996 for offences related to child prostitution and 488 for other offences related to child labour; and a number of cases prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney-General but without being able to indicate which may have concerned child labour and child prostitution. The Ministry of Justice has also reported 235 cases prosecuted in 1998 and 376 in 1999, most resulting in punishment by fines. The Committee appreciates the effort made to provide these figures, but finds it difficult to arrive at a precise idea of how many persons were prosecuted and found guilty of offences involving child prostitution and forced child labour. It encourages the Government to continue gathering information and refining its statistical tools in this regard, and to provide further data in its next report.

13.  In this connection, the Committee recalled in its previous comment that Article 25 of the Convention calls for the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour to be punishable as a penal offence, and that the penalties imposed by law should be really adequate and strictly enforced. The Government has replied that the use of fines has been deemed most appropriate in minor cases which were not related to bodily harm, abuse, detention, confinement and torture against child workers. The fines were considered adequate if compared to national average income, and the number of violations registered for child labour had decreased compared to the previous period, while the number of prosecutions for prostitution had increased significantly. The Committee urges the Government to keep this aspect of its enforcement measures under close review, in the light of the Convention’s requirements.