The
labour law
Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...
of
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
takes place under the framework of several acts of parliament and decrees, primarily the Labour Protection Act, B.E. 2541 (1998), and is mainly governed by the
Ministry of Labour
The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...
. Most of the legal framework was developed during the mid-to-late twentieth century, as
Thailand's economy saw rapid expansion beginning in the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
period.
While the law protects workers' rights of association and organization for collective bargaining, and allows workers to form unions, in practice the protections are inadequate, leading to a generally weak union system. The laws also only protect workers in the
formal labour sector, and often don't reach Thailand's large
migrant worker
A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work.
Migrant worker ...
population, many of whom are employed illegally. The practice of
modern slavery
Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to occur in present-day society. Estimates of the number of enslaved people today range from around 38 million to 46 mil ...
in some of the country's industries became a subject of international attention in the 2010s, with the government attempting to address the issues in response.
Wages
Wages are the major source of household income in Thailand,
[020
020 is the national dialling code for London in the United Kingdom. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of eight digits and it has capacity for approaching 100 million telephone numbers. The code is used at 170 telephone exch ...]
/> although wage income distribution varies by region: Almost three-quarters of the population in Bangkok are in households that receive wage income, compared with less than half in the northern region.