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The fight for true democracy

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Page context: Home > Transport International Magazine > Issue 20 July 2005 > The fight for true democracy

An interview with Somsak Kosaisook

Somsak Kosaisook, president of the State Railway Workers’ Union of Thailand, has dedicated his life to fighting oppression, whether in the form of dictatorship or, more recently, capitalism, as Jane Barrett discovers

What were your early years like?

I was born to a poor family in Southern Thailand. Schooling was regarded as extremely important in my community and, despite the fees demanded, like most other children in my community, I completed high school. I went on to attend a railway technical school in 1963.

By the time I reached adulthood the military dictatorship was fully in control, having come to power in 1957 with the support of Eisenhower and America’s post-war allies. The US saw Thailand under a dictatorship as a potential buffer against the spread of communism in South-East Asia. General Sarit Thamarat, the first military prime minister of the dictatorship, accepted World Bank loans as part of a “Master Plan” for the economy, in exchange for the promise of repressing any movement in favour of socialism.

How did you become a trade union activist?

When I started working for the state railway company, I had not previously been exposed to trade unionism or political activism. But as soon as I started working I became conscious of unfair practices, and I simply couldn’t help fighting for workers’ rights. It was instinct. Without any intention, I became a local leader of young workers. Management retaliated by victimising me. Despite many attempts, they could never dismiss me, but they withheld any wage increase for 11 years. It was a period when there was no freedom of association, and the right to assemble did not exist. This made organising even on a local level, very difficult.

During this early period of my employment I became aware of a network of trade unionists who had gone underground when the dictatorship came to power. They noticed me and integrated me into the underground.

Dictatorship, unrest, brutal repression – and now civilian government

For most of the second half of the twentieth century, Thailand was under the heavy hand of a military dictatorship, which met with strong student, civic and trade union opposition. In 1976 when students and workers were being mown down by the police in South Africa, the same was happening in Thailand. In that year alone, over 1,000 Thai students and workers were killed.

The Thai trade union movement played a particularly important role in the struggle for democratic government, with the military dictatorship finally overthrown in 1992. Since 1992 the country has known its longest period of civilian rule since 1957. In this period the trade union movement has been confronted with new challenges, in particular the struggle against neoliberal economic policies, which have seen the government pursuing a policy of privatisation.

The 15,000 strong State Railway Workers’ Union of Thailand (SRUT) has been at the forefront of the anti-privatisation movement. The state owned Thai railway derives over half of its revenues from its passenger service, making it a visible and popular publicly owned service.

Was this network linked to any particular party?

Some of the trade unionists had been members of the communist party, but not all. The main issues for the underground movement were the principles of freedom of association and basic worker rights. But of course the dictatorship labelled us all communist. It was only later that many persecuted trade union leaders went into the jungle and joined the Communist Party.

What were some of the turning points?

In 1970, after 13 years of dictatorship, about 10 key leaders of the trade union underground were arrested and imprisoned without trial. There were others who were shot and killed at point blank range. Some went into exile, others into the jungle, and others like myself stayed, continuing to educate workers about the meaning of trade unions. All this happened in a period when preparation for civilian rule was supposed to be taking place, including the drafting of a constitution.

The repression in 1970 resulted in an international outcry and the subsequent re-introduction of limited civil rights. In 1972 the dictatorship introduced limited labour protections, including a minimum wage, and allowed workers to organise into associations, with no right to strike or negotiate. With this limited easing up of workers’ rights, one national state railway association was established in July 1972, with the backing and involvement of those who had been in the underground.

The establishment of more associations, especially in state-owned enterprises (which were the biggest employers) followed. By 1973 a people’s movement had been established, with the participation of students and academics (many of whom had returned from exile). Clashes with the police resulted in the deaths of over 1000 people. By November 1973 workers and others had had enough, and a general strike was called. The strike succeeded in bringing down the dictatorship and a new civilian government was appointed by the king.

But this was not the end of dictatorship, as just three years later, in October 1976 the generals took over again. The generals were fearful of what they saw as growing people’s power. In the railway sector alone, between 1973 and 1976 there were three national strikes on working conditions.

What happened after 1976?

The first period of the second dictatorship was horribly violent. The military killed and imprisoned many trade union and political leaders. Some went back to the jungle and others were sent to military camps for “re-education”. But the unions had established their base and the Labour Relations Act of 1975 remained in place.

Between 1976 and 1992 there were fluctuations between military and civilian rule. The final military coup was in 1991, after which trade unions in the public sector were again banned.

By 1992 civil society organisations had re-grouped again and formed a strong alliance. Resistance to military rule was strong, but the generals responded with brute force. In a matter of months about 100 were shot dead and another 100 disappeared. These included the president of the Labour Congress, who was kidnapped in June 1992 and was never seen again. He is now believed to be dead, but no information on his fate has ever come to light.

Resistance continued however and finally the generals handed power back to a civilian government in the same year.

What has the trade union movement achieved since 1992?

It has not been an easy period. Although we have full rights to organise, we are still weakened by the tradition of house unions, especially in the private sector. We have not been able to move to a tradition of industrial unions. So the backbone of the trade union movement remains in the public sector, where the biggest unions are in the state owned enterprises.

We are also faced now with a new dictatorship – that of capitalism. The employers are taking advantage of the rapid liberalisation of the economy and the government is supporting them. Workers are working harder and longer hours while earning less.

It is in this context that the public sector trade unions have formed an alliance with civic organisations to fight privatisation. Our anti-privatisation campaign has been successful so far. The government intended privatising water and energy this year, but could not do so because of the scale of opposition. Our alliance also addresses wider issues. Poverty is biting hard, and everybody is poorer. Personal debt has reached critical proportions and we are all worried that conditions are emerging that could give rise to the return of the military.

Privatisation plans scuppered by protests

It is estimated that between 60-80,000 workers turned out for the May Day rally in Thailand in 2004. The labour movement, farmers, students and other civic organisations joined together to create a list of May Day demands including:

1. End privatisation and improve the efficiency of state enterprises.

2. Fair increase in the minimum wage.

3. Ratify ILO conventions 87 and 98 (concerning freedom of association and labour rights).

4. Ensure minimum legal standards for health and safety in the workplace

5. Legal protection and enforcement of workers’ rights, including the rights of subcontracted and migrant workers.

6. Protect the rights of HIV infected people, including help with access to medicine.

Mass support for this and other anti-privatisation protests led to suspension of the government’s plans to privatise water and energy services in 2004.

What are the lessons of the dictatorship?

Every time there is a coup, the first thing dictators want to destroy is the labour movement. This they do either by elimination or by infiltration and control. So if there should ever be another coup, by whatever group, all labour organisations must unite as one and respond without hesitation.

The leaders of the labour movement must be true supporters of democracy and not be seduced. If they take up positions in civil society or in politics on behalf of workers, then they must be aware of their responsibilities and use these positions for the benefit of workers. And it is absolutely necessary that the rank and file monitor the practices of their leaders. It is important not to believe only what leaders say but also look at what they actually do.

What are the immediate tasks facing the Thai labour movement?

We must now go about establishing a unified, solid organisation, through which we can build our economic, social and political bargaining power. This will provide the basis on which we can forge alliances with a broad range of forces in the struggle to establish a truly democratic system in Thailand.

Jane Barrett is policy research officer for the South African transport workers’ union Satawu. She interviewed Somsak Kosaisook during a visit to Bangkok in November 2004.

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Issue 20 July 2005

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