Tyre Industry Industrial Unrest in Thailand Reported

Various news sources have reported on disputes between management and workers at the Thailand operations of various international companies, including Michelin and Goodyear. According to Bangkok based publication The Nation, up to five hundred workers demonstrated on a range of issues, including Goodyear (Thailand) laying off 160 workers without any advance notice and Siam Michelin cutting salaries by 13 per cent and reducing working hours.

The World Socialist Website states that more than 380 workers were locked out of Michelin’s Laem Chabang factory in Chonburi Province on March 25 after refusing to withdraw their names from a petition opposing the wage cut. The petition, the website reports, also called on managers to stop forcing employees to sign wage-cut acceptance forms. The website adds that eight employees were suspended before the lockout and those who refused to disavow the petition had their wages reduced by 35 per cent, plus a cut in annual leave to six days a year.

According to The National, Thailand’s Labour Ministry is unable to interfere in the workings of foreign firms such as Siam Michelin.