Labor Policy in Thailand

Abstract

Historically, labor policy in Thailand has emerged from contests that have involved competing constellations of economic, political, and ideological interests. Recently, these contests have been dominated by those particular interests aligned with Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai Rak Thai party (TRT) which formed a government in January 2001. During its first term in office, the TRT government has implemented economic and social policies that embody a broad twofold objective: first, to restructure economy, politics, and society in order to build a globally competitive capitalism; second, to manage the conflicts and tensions that processes of restructuring have generated. Labor policies both reflect and form a significant component of the government's pursuit of these dual objectives.