THAILAND CHILD LABOR REPORT - 2005

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 BANGKOK 005569

SIPDIS

DRL/IL FOR LAUREN HOLT
DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EIND ELAB ETRD PHUM SOCI TH
SUBJECT: THAILAND CHILD LABOR REPORT - 2005

REF: STATE 143552

--------------
Trends in Child Labor in Thailand
--------------


1. (U) Contradictory statistical surveys by various Royal
Thai government (RTG) agencies involved in child labor
issues make an estimate of the scope of the phenomenon in
Thailand difficult. Children found in street
peddling/begging and other illegal industries such as
prostitution are generally overlooked in these accountings.
In addition, RTG official surveys ignore non-Thai children
who make up a proportion of those found in the worst forms
of child labor, far outstripping their share of the general
population. In a February 2000 national labor survey,
137,600 Thai children between 13-14 years were working,
primarily on family farms, a practice not considered harmful
under definitions in the Trade and Development Act. An
additional 1.5 million children and youth in the 15-19 age
bracket were in the labor force. This number represents a
sharp reduction from a 1980 population and housing census,
when 810,200 children aged 13-14 years, and 3.5 million
children/youths aged 15-19 worked. It should be noted that
the 1980 and 2000 surveys were conducted for different
purposes, and with differing definitions and methodologies.
However, independent observers of the issue agree there is a
clear trend towards fewer Thai children entering the work
force over the past two decades.

-------------- --------------
Better Education and Economy, Fewer Thai Children
-------------- --------------


2. (U) This trend is largely due to better educational
opportunities, rapid industrialization of the economy
requiring more skilled adults, and to decreasing fertility
rates. An effective national planning program reduced the
annual rate of population growth in Thailand from 1.9
percent in 1976 to 0.95 percent in 2003. During that period,
children between the ages of 15-19 became a smaller slice of
the demographic pie. In 1976, they constituted 10.8 percent
of the total population; by 2003, that percentage had been
reduced to 8.6 percent.


3. (U) With fewer children in the population, fewer were
found in the workplace. In addition, some academics believe
the economic crisis of 1997, which saw a sharp contraction
in economic growth in 1998/99, further limited child labor.
Fewer jobs were available for children, and at lower wages.
Competition for the few jobs left increased from newly
unemployed and under employed adults. Parents who normally
expected children to provide income for the family therefore
decided to place children in school instead of the
workplace. As a result, unemployment of Thai youth increased
more rapidly than for other segments of the population
during the economic crisis. In 1995, 2.4 percent of youth
15 - 18 were unemployed; this rate quadrupled to 12 percent
by 1999, far outpacing the increase in unemployment for
adults.

--------------
Child Migrants
--------------


4. (U) During a first-ever accounting of migrant children in
July 2004, 79,200 Burmese, Lao and Cambodian minors less
than 15 years of age registered with Thai authorities.
Children 15 -17 years of age were not disaggregated in the
registration data, but likely reached the number of 12-14
year olds, or 20,000. Observers believe another 15-20
percent of migrants did not register, suggesting a total of
about 120,000 foreign children in Thailand. Of these, NGOs
believe the great majority older than 10 are employed.
Burmese, Cambodian and Laotian children all work in
Thailand, most the dependents of adult migrant workers.
Agriculture, informal sector work, and light work in textile
and jewelry factories constitute the most common employment
for these children. The foreign child workers were seldom
included in RTG surveys and labor inspection reports,
however, as they were usually in Thailand illegally and are
quickly processed for deportation once discovered.


5. (U) In March 2004, the RTG approved a new policy towards
the 1-2 million migrants from Burma, Laos and Cambodia in
Thailand. For the first time, children of migrants were
allowed to register for one-year residence permits. The
registration also allows migrant children access to the
compulsory education system. However it is unclear whether
the public school system, or non-formal education system,
will be made available to the migrants. If effectively
implemented, this policy should reduce the number of migrant
children found in work in Thailand.

--------------
Legal Protections for Children
--------------


6. (U) In general, sufficient legal protections exist for
children in the formal economic sector. The Labor
Protection Act of 1998 is the primary law regulating
employment of children under the age of 18. The minimum
working age of 15, stipulated in the Labor Protection Act,
is coordinated with the mandatory national education
requirement of 9 years. Employment of children under 15 is
prohibited in compliance with ILO Convention 138 (Minimum
Age for Employment),which Thailand ratified in May 2004.
Children between the ages of 15 - 17 may be employed, but
the prospective employer must notify the RTG Ministry of
Labor (MOL),and work is only permitted in occupations that
are not considered hazardous or detrimental to the child's
health. No more than eight hours of work per day are
permitted for employers in the 15 - 17 age group. The list
of prohibited occupations is extensive, and includes:

- metal melting, blowing, casting or rolling;
- metal pressing;
- work involving heat, cold, vibration, noise and light of
an abnormal level which may be hazardous as prescribed in
the Ministerial Regulations;
- work involving hazardous chemical substances as prescribed
in the Ministerial Regulations;
- work involving poisonous microorganisms, which may be a
virus, bacterium, fungus, or any other germs as prescribed
in the Ministerial Regulations;
- work involving poisonous substances, explosive or
inflammable material, other than work in a fuel service
station as prescribed in the Ministerial Regulations;
- driving or controlling a forklift or a crane as prescribed
in the Ministerial Regulations;
- work using an electric or motor saw;
- work that must be done underground, underwater, in a cave,
tunnel or mountain shaft;
- work involving radioactivity as prescribed in the
Ministerial Regulations;
- cleaning of machinery or engines while in operation;
- work which must be done on scaffolding ten meters or
more above the ground; or
-- a slaughterhouse;
-- a gambling place;
-- a place of dancing, Ramwong or Rong Ngeng (traditional
dances);
- a place of selling and serving food, liquor, tea or other
beverage, with a pleasing person to treat customers, or
with a place for relaxing, or a massage service for
customers; or work that must be performed underground,
underwater, in a cave, in a tunnel or in an confined place;
- work involving radioactivity;
- metal welding work;
- hazardous substance transportation work;
- hazardous chemical production work;
- work that must be done with an instrument or machine
whereby the worker is exposed to vibration that may be
harmful; and
- work involving extreme heat or cold that may be harmful,
provided that the nature of the work is such that the
Employee is highly exposed to danger or that the levels of
exposure in the working environment exceed the safety
standards prescribed in
-- work involving of heat, cold, vibration and noise which
maybe harmful as follows:
--- work performed in a place where the temperature in
the working environment is higher than 45 degrees Celsius;
--- work performed in cold storage in the production or
preservation of food by freezing;
--- work using a pneumatic drill; and
--- work where the noise levels to which the Employee
is exposed continuously is in excess of 85 decibels (A) for
eight working hours a day;
- work involving hazardous chemicals, poisonous substances,
explosives or inflammable materials, as follows:
-- production or transportation of any substance that may
cause cancer according to the list attached hereto;
-- work involving cyanide;
-- production or transportation of flares, fireworks or
other explosives; and
-- exploration, drilling, refinery, filling or loading of
fuel oil or gas, except for work in a fuel station;
- work involving toxic microorganisms, which may be viruses,
bacteria, fungus or other germs, as follows:
-- work performed in a diagnostic laboratory;
-- taking care of a patient with a contagious disease
under the law governing contagious diseases;
-- cleaning of a patient's utensils and clothing in a
medical establishment; and collection, transportation, or
disposal of rubbish or waste in a medical establishment;
- driving or control of hoists or cranes operated by an
engine or electricity, regardless of the manner of driving
or control.


7. (U) The 1998 Labor Protection Act prohibits employers of
children aged 15 - 17 from paying employee's wages to anyone
else than the employee, and prohibits the demanding of
sureties, bonds or other measures to hold children in the
workplace. This legal restriction incorporates provisions of
the ILO Convention 29 on Forced Labor, ratified by Thailand
in 1969.

--------------
Limited Protection for Informal Sector
--------------


8. (U) The 1998 Labor Protection Act does not cover
agricultural and informal sector (including domestic
household) work, sectors which together employ about two-
thirds of the workers in Thailand, and which have many
workers in the 15 - 17 year age bracket - as well as
underage workers. There are currently very limited legal
protections for children in these sectors. Those protections
only extend to national holidays being observed, and payment
being made in the Thai national currency. To address this,
MOL regulations were issued in early 2004 to increase
protections for child workers in informal sector work.
Regulations concerning agricultural workers are under review
by the RTG Council of State, the government legal advisory
agency. Hazardous work in the agricultural sector is
identified in the draft regulations, and prohibitions
against children/youth participation are made. NGOs active
in child protection have urged, however, that the additional
protections be made in the form of new laws rather than
ministerial regulations. In their view, laws would ensure
stricter implementation. Minimum age and wage protection,
working hours, holidays, and proper welfare including food
and medical treatment are priorities for reform, according
to these activists.

--------------
Other Laws Affecting Child Labor
--------------


9. (U) A general commitment to maintaining the well-being of
children, both Thai and foreign, in Thailand is contained in
the reformist 1997 Constitution, which stipulates, "Children
and youth( shall have the right to be protected by the State
against violence and unfair treatment." The Constitution
also increased mandatory education from six to nine years (a
change implemented in 2002),and increased free education
from 9 to 12 years.


10. (U) In addition to the Labor and Protection Act of 1998,
other Thai laws provide for the protection of children
include:

- The National Education Act (1999). Provides for free
education lasting twelve years, and compulsory education of
nine years.

- Amendment to the Penal Code (1999). Imposed more severe
penalties on persons who sexually exploit girls under 15,
and between 15-17 years old. Also penalizes violators who
sell children to be beggars or to establishments which
employ labor in a "cruel or hazardous fashion." Amends the
Criminal Procedure Code of 1999 to institute child-friendly
interview protocols for child victims of abuse, trafficking,
and labor exploitation.

- Measures in the Prevention and Suppression of Trade in
Women and Children Act (1997). Penalizes offenders who
traffic children for sexual or labor exploitation. Provides
for shelter and rehabilitation for child victims of labor
abuse.

- Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act (1996).
Increased protections for children who are victims of
commercial sex, one of the worst forms of child labor.

- Anti - Money Laundering Act (1999). Provides for seizure
of assets of persons who exploit children in the commercial
sex and narcotics industries.


11. (U) In addition to these laws, in July 2003 the RTG
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NGOs working
in the field of child protection. The MOU spelled out
improved procedures for handling Thai and foreign child
victims of the worst forms of labor exploitation. The MOU
specifies which RTG agency is responsible for which aspect
of the problem, and mandates cooperation between RTG
officials and the thirty or so NGOs involved in this area.

12. (U) Implementation of the national MOU has been uneven,
however. In the most visible incident, in September 2003
over a hundred Cambodian children found begging or peddling
in urban areas were deported in a mass airlift to Phnom
Penh, far from their homes in rural western Cambodia. No
attempt was made to refer the children to NGOs for
protective care and organized repatriation.


13. (U) In November 2004, the RTG implemented guidelines to
improve the vetting of trafficking victims among child
beggars and street vendors from Cambodia and Burma. Using a
guide jointly developed by the Royal Thai Police and the
International Organization for Migration (IOM),law
enforcement officials (assisted by social workers and NGOs)
now identify victims of trafficking and refer them to one of
six regional government shelters. The victims are able to
stay at the shelters during any subsequent prosecution of
traffickers. Upon completion of their participation in any
prosecution of traffickers, the victims are returned to
their home country, preferably in the regional program
implemented by IOM.

--------------
National Strategy to Define Worst Forms
--------------


14. (U) The Labor Protection Act and other Thai laws do not
explicitly define the worst forms of child labor and
hazardous work as defined by ILO Convention 182, which
Thailand ratified in February 2001. The Ministry of Labor,
with technical and financial assistance from the ILO, is
developing a national strategy on eliminating the worst
forms of child labor. The plan was adopted during public
hearings in 2003. The appointment of a national - level
implementing subcommittee was still pending in August 2005
after two changes in the Labor Minister position. Once the
subcommittee is named, the National Strategy will be
forwarded to the RTG Cabinet for final approval. That
strategy identifies the worst forms of child labor, which
include: commercial sex work, including participation in
pornographic movies and still photographs; labor involving
the sale or transport of illegal drugs; labor on fishing
boats; and agricultural work in orchards. Once approved by
the RTG Cabinet, relevant laws and regulations will be
amended to reflect this new legal definition.


15. (U) In 2004, the RTG folded a National Policy and Plan
of Action for the Prevention and Eradication of the
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children into a larger
National Plan on Trafficking in Women and Children. This
plan addressed seven areas, namely: 1) prevention; 2) rescue
and protection; 3) suppression and law enforcement; 4)
repatriation and reintegration; 5) database system,
monitoring, and assessment; 6) management mechanisms; and 7)
international cooperation. The plan was approved by the RTG
Cabinet in July 2003. A comprehensive plan of action (2005-
2010) and indicators were developed in early 2005 concerning
the seven outlined areas. The action plan will soon be
forwarded to the Cabinet for approval and budget allocation.
International and local Thai NGOs will assist the government
in implementation of the plan.

--------------
Enforcement of Thai Labor Law
--------------


16. (U) While Thailand has fairly good child labor laws,
enforcement of these laws is inadequate. Resource
constraints in the RTG Ministry of Labor hampers enforcement
of legal prohibitions against abuse of child labor. MOL
inspections of workplaces have decreased significantly since
1997, due to budgetary constraints in the wake of Thailand's
economic crisis. Child labor inspections have been reduced
correspondingly, with only 1,241 workplaces inspected in
2004 compared to 2,670 in 1996. Twenty-one of the
workplaces inspected showed serious violations, such as
employing underage workers or exceeding legal work hour
limits.

--------------
Legal Penalties for Child Labor Abuses
--------------


17. (U) Penalties for abuse of child labor under the 1998
Labor Protection Act are light and do not serve as an
effective deterrent. Section 144 under the Act prescribes
that any employer who violates the labor laws regarding a
child employment must be penalized with imprisonment of not
more than six months, or a fine not exceeding USD 2,440, or
both.

18. (U) In practice, however, violators are issued a
warning, with sporadic follow-up visits performed by MOL
inspectors. Most discovered violations involve excessive
working hours or hazardous working conditions. If the
violation causes physical or mental harm to an employee, or
leads to the death of an employee, an employer may be
penalized with imprisonment of not more than one year or a
fine not exceeding USD 4,880 or both.


19. (U) In cases where torture or other forms of physical
abuse (such as sexual exploitation) are involved, charges
may be made under the Penal Code, which has more severe
penalties. The Penal Code specifies a range of penalties
for rape or forcible sexual assault, depending on the age of
the victim, degree of assault, and the physical and mental
condition of the victim after the assault. Statutory rape of
a child between 13-14 years of age is carries a sentence of
4 - 20 years imprisonment, and a fine ranging from USD 190 -

952. If the victim is under 13, a conviction can result in a
jail term from 7 years to life imprisonment.


20. (U) Penalties for trafficking in children, as set forth
under the Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act of
1996 and the Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in
Women and Children Act (1997),vary according to the age of
the victim and the method of trafficking. For offenses
against children between 15 and 18 years, the potential
punishment is five to fifteen years of imprisonment and a
fine of USD 2,273 to USD 9,091. If the offense is committed
with deceit, threat, physical assault, immoral influence, or
other mental coercion, the sentences and fines may be
increased by one-third.

--------------
Hidden Workers: Child Domestics
--------------


21. (U) A 2002 survey by the RTG National Statistics Office
reported 10,728 Thai children employed in domestic
(household) labor, ranging in age from 12 - 17. Domestic
workers present a special category of child worker, as they
are largely immune from inspection by MOL officials and are
offered few labor law protections. MOL labor inspectors
must obtain a warrant to inspect a private household. In
practice, this is a time consuming process not pursued
unless there are compelling reasons to believe there are
underage children on the premises, or there is physical
abuse or indentured servitude. As economic development
towards more skill-intensive, value-added industries
increases, and educational opportunities broaden, fewer and
fewer Thai children are employed in household work. A 2002
ILO rapid assessment suggested that the worst forms of child
labor are not a concern among Thai children found in
domestic work. This is because the communities of origin
(primarily in the poorer northeastern section of the
country) have developed mechanisms and social networks to
ensure confidence in the recruitment and conditions of their
children in this labor market.

--------------
Special Problems for Foreign Domestics
--------------


22. (U) These networks are not present for foreign children
in domestic work in Thailand, however. Steady demand and
fewer Thai children in the demographic pie have meant an
increasing portion of child domestic workers are from
neighboring Burma, Cambodia and Laos. In the employer
registration period beginning June 30, 2005 (which will end
August 31, 2005),the Ministry of Labor, as of mid-August,
had received requests to employ 178,588 foreign domestic
workers, of which permission was granted for 169,754 (95
percent). Although statistics are not available, NGO
observers believe roughly one-quarter to one-third of
foreign domestics are children younger than 18. This
suggests there are perhaps 38,000 - 51,000 foreign children
involved in household work in Thailand. Language barriers,
lack of access to legal assistance, and their illegal status
have made these foreign children vulnerable to exploitation.
The exploitation takes several forms. Indentured servitude
and excessive working hours are the most common, together
with salaries far below minimum wage. In one ILO study
group of 40 child workers in Thailand (half of whom were
foreign),the daily wage averaged 75 cents, or about 20
percent of the legal minimum wage for formal sector workers
in Bangkok. Many domestic child workers are also required
to work in the employer's shop or small restaurant, meaning
work days that last 12-15 hours, sometimes in hazardous
conditions. The increasingly foreign composition of the
child domestic labor force in Thailand has meant employers
must keep their illegal charges in secret, often restricting
them to a walled residence compound. This further limits
information on the extent of the phenomenon, and limits
assistance to victims of child labor abuse.

--------------
Reports of Physical Abuse
--------------


23. (U) There are no differentiated statistics on the number
of child workers subject to physical abuse. What accountings
that exist, either among RTG agencies or the 30 private
organizations that provide assistance to children, are
uncoordinated and mix domestic abuse cases into their data.
The physical abuse of child workers appears to occur in a
steady minority of cases, highlighted by periodic press and
NGO reports.

--------------
Worst Form of Child Labor - Drug Trade
--------------


24. (U) Thammasat University research in 1999 found that
663,290 students at all educational levels were involved in
drugs nationwide. There is no estimate of how many of these
students were 17 years and younger. In 2002, a total of
7,428 children were prosecuted for drug - related offenses,
including 1,299 for selling narcotics. An August, 2002
USDOL - funded rapid assessment of 100 children involved in
the drug trade in the Bangkok metropolitan area provided
insight into the extent of involvement in this worst form of
child labor. The majority in the sample group were 14 - 17
years of age, male, Thai nationality, and had left school
before the mandatory nine years. Most children acting as
"runners" (middle men between drug sellers and drug abusers)
are recruited by older acquaintances/friends in the
community, and retain a small profit from the drug sold
(mostly methamphetamines.) In some cases, older children
aged 16 - 17 deliver drugs between a major distributor and a
local seller. Children are preferred as runners and
deliverers by narcotics merchants because they are
undemanding, and are normally not charged as adults if
arrested. Instead, they are remanded to police-run
correctional homes.

-------------- ---
Worst Form of Child Labor - Peddling and Begging
-------------- ---


25. (U) Thai police continued to find foreign children
involved in peddling and begging on urban streets. In
September 2003, in an effort to "clean" streets in Bangkok
prior to an international meeting, over one hundred children
were detained and deported to Cambodia. The incident
highlighted the increasing problem of foreign children
employed in peddling and begging in Thailand. RTG
statistics suggest the number of foreign child beggars has
increased 40 percent since 1997, many brought to Thailand in
organized trafficking schemes. Total numbers of current
child street workers are not known, and the RTG immigration
police do not segregate data on deportees by age. The
children, evenly split between boys and girls, were employed
in begging and selling flowers in urban areas such as
Bangkok and Chiang Mai. An ILO study suggested wages
averaged USD 5 per day, but noted that income likely
included extra earnings realized through sexual
exploitation, a danger street children are particularly
susceptible to.


26. (U) In general, working conditions for these children
peddlers and beggars are difficult and dangerous. In
addition to the exposure to sexual abuse by customers in
bars and shopping centers, small children must walk through
heavy traffic to sell their goods to motorists. Exhaust
fumes and accidents pose serious health hazards. In a
minority of cases, child street workers are recruited into
the criminally controlled paedophilia market in places like
the resort city of Pattaya. Psychological harm and
associated drug abuse, and diseases such as AIDS, are common
among exploited children in this group.

--------------
Worst form of Child Labor - Prostitution
--------------


27. (U) Estimates of the number of children involved in
prostitution in Thailand vary widely. In 2002,
sensationalistic press and NGO accounts suggested that up to
one million children were involved in the sex industry in
Thailand. Knowledgeable UN and NGO observers, however,
discount such estimates as greatly exaggerated. A survey by
the RTG Public Health Ministry in 1999 estimated that there
were 12,000 - 18,000 child prostitutes in the country. The
RTG Office of the National Commission on Women's Affairs
reported a year later that about 20 percent of Thailand's
Thai sex workers were under 18 years of age, or about 22,500
- 40,000. This estimate does not include non-Thai children
in prostitution, a proportion NGOs and RTG health
representatives feel is increasing. A significant number of
child prostitutes, perhaps more than half, are non-Thai
citizens. The major source country is Burma, followed by
Laos and Cambodia. Yunnan province in southern China is also
an increasing source of child prostitutes. In addition,
children from ethnic minority groups resident in Thailand,
including an estimated 200 - 300,000 highland people who do
not have legal status, have disproportionately large
representation in the commercial sex industry. UN agencies
and NGOs have identified this latter group's lack of access
to legal status in Thailand as a major contributing factor
towards this disturbing trend. Most children in prostitution
in Thailand are girls in the 14 - 17 year old age range.
However, a significant minority of pre-pubescent boys are
exploited by organized pedophile rings in Bangkok and
smaller cities such as Chiang Mai and Pattaya.

--------------
Social Programs to Prevent Child Labor
--------------


28. (U) There were no government - sponsored education
campaigns on the worst forms of child labor during the past
year. This role was filled by NGOs and international
organizations, which are active in the field. The RTG
entered into cooperative arrangements with local industries
(especially the hotel industry) to encourage youth
(particularly girls) to find employment outside of the sex
industry and other areas of exploitative work. Vocational
training programs, aimed at newly graduating high school
students, also received funding during the past year.
Although the vocational training is not intended explicitly
for prevention of the worst forms of child labor, the
practical effect is to increase the range of decent work
choices for recent school graduates. These programs are only
intended for Thai youth, however, and do not have an impact
on the increasing large proportion of non-Thai children
found in exploitative work.


29. (U) The RTG established an annual quota of 200,000
scholarships for poor Thai and stateless children (i.e.,
children of ethnic minorities born in Thailand but not
eligible for Thai citizenship.) The intent of the
scholarship program is to provide educational opportunities
for children who otherwise might be forced by financial
circumstances to find work.


30. (U) In addition to these efforts, the RTG implemented
the following continuing measures:

- 60,000 community leaders in villages throughout the
country have been appointed "labor volunteers" to increase
grassroots involvement to prevent child labor;

- each of Thailand's 77 provinces have Woman and Child Labor
Assistance centers, staffed by RTG officials and NGO
representatives.

- The MOL funds an outreach program, traveling to villages
nationwide to disseminate information on child labor.

Funding levels for these initiatives are not available.

-------------- --
Other Government Measures to Address Child Work
-------------- --


31. (U) The National Thai Working Group to Combat the
Trafficking of Women and Children (TWG) coordinates the wide
range of RTG ministries and agencies with overlapping
responsibilities in addressing child labor exploitation and
associated trafficking in persons. The TWG is tasked with
the development and coordination of national responses of
both government agencies and NGOs to combat trafficking in
Thailand. UNICEF, IOM and other international organizations
are represented in the working group. The TWG has, in
cooperation with NGOs and international organizations,
pushed the drafting of an effective legislative and
regulatory framework, including several MOUs on procedures
and coordination between RTG agencies, and capability
building of law enforcement.

ARVIZU