BANGKOK, Oct 30 (TNA) — Thailand’s protection of alien workers is up to international standard, Labour Minister Chatu Mongol Sonakul said in response to the United States raising Thai labour issues as a reason to suspend the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for Thailand.
After the cabinet’s meeting, Chatu Mongol said that Thailand already proved migrant workers with protection and welfare of international standard based on human rights and equality and it was unnecessary for them to form their labour unions.
The US wanted Thailand to accept 11 conditions for its GSP. Thailand had not accepted two of them because they would offer better rights to alien workers compared with the rights of Thai workers, the labour minister said.
It was impossible for Thailand to amend its criminal law to let alien workers have better rights than Thai workers, Chatu Mongol said.
He would wait for negotiation between the Commerce Ministry and the US, saying the US might forget about labour issues if it reached a deal with the Commerce Ministry as the Thai labour issue was not bad. (TNA)
